The Mage Knights
by E. C. R. Potter
Summary: FINISHED! AU. Farm Girl Hermione's life changes forever when she meets Sir Harry Potter and the Mage Knights. A complete medieval type fantasy world of knights and swordfights, of quests and adventure, and of kings and kingdoms. H/Hr romance epic.
1. A Story in History

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The Mage Knights

E.C.R. Potter

A/N In this story, we find our familiar characters in a not so familiar setting: namely a complete medieval type fantasy world of knights and chivalry, of quests and adventure, and of kings and kingdoms. The primary inspiration for this story is J.R.R. Tolkiens's The Lord of the Rings and Enix's role-playing video game series, Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior). It is basically a novel length H/Hr epic

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Raincoast, and anything else related.

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Chapter 1: A Story in History

It was a dark time in the lands of Magiterran. The Kingdom of Gryffindor had been conquered by the Kingdom of Slytherin 15 years ago. The Alliance of the Kingdoms of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were still holding out in the war against Slytherin, but it was quite clear that it would only be a matter of time before they too would fall. Indeed, the fall of Gryffindor, once the greatest of the four kingdoms, had changed the balance of power, and it was obvious that all of Magiterran would eventually be controlled by the Slytherin kingdom.

The people of the former Kingdom of Gryffindor lived in terror as they were violently oppressed by Slytherin warriors on a daily basis. Everyday there were rumors of villages that had been destroyed or people being tortured to death simply for their oppressors' entertainment. Freedom had simply ceased to exist the day the Gryffindor Royal Family was assassinated. However, there were those who still clung to the hope that things would eventually turn better again. One of those was a 16 year girl who lived in a village near the Northeastern borderlands of the former Gryffindor kingdom. Her name was Hermione Granger.

Hermione was a farmer's daughter. She was not necessarily stunningly beautiful but she had a sense of prettiness that radiated in a form of inner beauty. She had bushy brown hair that fell just below her shoulders and her brown eyes sparkled with a sense of warmth and intelligence. 'Intelligent' would probably be an understatement when describing her, for she had taught herself how to read at an early age. Books were her passion and it was quite common that she would spend a good deal of the day reading books that she found in the village library or church when she should have been helping her family in the fields. It was not considered 'proper' for a farmer's daughter to read, but Hermione could have cared less about what was 'proper'. She often used what she learned in the books to tell the village children stories about the days when they were still residents of the Kingdom of Gryffindor and ruled by good King James and fair Queen Lily.

"Queen Lily was a champion of the common folk," she would say while sitting on the on a bench in the middle of the village square surrounded by children. "She devoted her life to happiness of those who were less fortunate in terms of wealth and worked hard at helping the poor. The people loved the Queen with all their hearts since she identified with the commoners. She considered herself as one of us and always came to meet the common folk in person."

"Did you ever meet her?" asked a girl of about seven.

"I was only thirteen months old when the King and Queen died," answered Hermione. "But there are many grown ups in this very village who have. I've heard them tell stories of how loving and kind she was and how much they loved her in return."

"People also loved King James. He was a wise ruler and a brave soldier who would have sacrificed his own life for the sake of his people. He always personally led his armies into battle and always identified himself as one of the soldiers. I could tell you a bout the hundreds of storeadership of the royal family, the armies soon crumbled and the Slytherin armies were able to storm into our lands and..." At this point, Hermione was no longer able to continue. There was a brief silence as the children waited for her to continue with her stories. When it became clear that she wasn't going to continue, the audience slowly got up and returned home. After the last child had left the village square, Hermione got up and started walking back to her own home.

As she walked back she looked up toward the stars. She had only been a year old when King James and Queen Lily had been killed. She had never known a life of freedom and happiness, but she knew that any life would be better than the one of fear and sadness that they lived in. "There is always hope," she whispered to herself. "We must never lose hope."

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A/N That 


	2. The Knight with the Lightning Bolt Scar

Disclaimer: Its all J.K. Rowling's stuff. I only own the plot and the setting.

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Chapter 2: The Knight with the Lightning Bolt Scar

It was only a week later that Hermione's life changed forever. It was mid summer, and Hermione had ventured into the woods to look for mushrooms as she usually did on such days. She hadn't been to lucky however, and before she knew it, it was quite late. "I should really get back to the village before it gets too dark." she sighed.

However, she noticed that something was dreadfully wrong when she was still a quite a distance away from the edge of the woods; there was a reddish glow in the night sky, toward the general vicinity of the village. Fearing the worse, Hermione hurried toward the edge of the woods. When she finally got there, she gasped.

The village was under attack! Houses were on fire and Slytherin warriors were running all of the place along with dark creatures that appeared to be under their control! Orcs, trolls, veela, goblins, werewolves, manticores, and chimaeras were tearing down buildings and killing every living thing in sight that was not a Slytherin or a dark creature! Hermione stared in shock as she saw many people she knew personally being murdered right before her eyes! Then, before anyone saw her, she turned around and ran! Hermione ran as fast as her legs could carry her away from the massacre: away from the only life that she knew that had been taken from her in one attack.

Eventually, she grew exhausted and collapsed underneath an old oak tree. As she sat there, the reality of what she had just witnessed settled in, and she burst into tears. 'My family is dead,' she thought. 'My friends, my home, my whole life is gone. What more can possibly happen?' At this, she started crying even harder. It was only after her tears had subsided a little when she noticed a large shadow over her. Slowly, Hermione looked up into the face of one of the trolls from the village.

The troll was a horrible sight to look upon. It was twelve feet tall, had grey skin and was carrying a large wooden club. Hermione was to paralyzed with fear to even scream as the troll grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up. "No....please...." was all she could say as more tears flowed down her cheeks. She anticipated the worse as the troll slowly started lumbering back towards the village, carrying the sobbing girl in its hand.

It was then that it happened. A pure white horse, with a knight on its back, jumped out in front of the troll, startling both the troll and Hermione. The knight was a most magnificent sight to behold. He was about Hermione's age and was quite tall and handsome. He was dressed in shiny silver armor with red and gold highlights that consisted of breastplate, waistguard, boots, shoulder coverings, and gauntlets. From beneath his shoulder coverings flowed a brilliant red cape and in his right hand he carried a silver sword with gleaming rubies adorning the handle. His head gear was more like a head band with a drawn up visor that was decorated with metallic bird's wings. Messy raven black hair stuck out all around his head gear, but the most striking aspect of the knight were his emerald green eyes and a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

"Put the girl down," he ordered in a clear, even tone.

At first, the troll simply stared at the knight. Then, without warning, the troll let out a huge roar and swung its club toward the knight! There was a sound of metal hitting wood as the knight blocked the club with his sword. He then sent his horse jumping behind the troll. The troll turned around and swung his club again, only to have it once again deflected by the sword. Angrily, the troll swung club down with the all the strength he could muster! This time, the knight had his horse jump out of the way as the club came crashing down.

All of a sudden, the knight pointed his sword at the troll and shouted _"Expelliarmus!"_

Hermione's eyes went wide as a red light shot out of the sword and hit the troll, sending its club flying out of its hand into a bush about ten feet away. The troll looked confused as the knight next shouted _"Accio!"_

Hermione screamed as she flew out of the troll's grasp and went flying through the air. A second afterwards, however, she found herself in the arms of the knight. The knight shouted _"Stupefy!"_ causing the troll to fall unconscious. Hermione looked into the brilliant green eyes of her rescuer and promptly fainted.

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A/N Chapter 2 


	3. The Mage Knights of Hogwarts

Disclaimer: Its all J.K. Rowling's stuff, got that?

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Chapter 3: The Mage Knights of Hogwarts

When Hermione woke up, the first thing she saw were a pair of twinkling blue eyes behind a pair of half moon spectacles. As her vision came in focus, she saw that they belonged to a kindly looking old man. He had long silver hair and a beard that went down to his waist. He also had a crooked nose and elegant purple robes.

"Ah, I see that you have woken, Miss Hermione Granger."

Hermione looked around. She was lying in a bed in the middle of a small room with stone walls. Sunlight was streaming through the windows behind her and there was a wooden door not to far away in front of her bed. The old man was sitting on a stool right next to the bed.

Hermione stared at the old man in bewilderment. "Wh..who are you? Where am I? H..how do you know my n..name?"

The old man chuckled. "Ah, yes. In answer to your first question, I am Albus Dumbledore, Guardian of Hogwarts. In answer to your second question, you are in a guest room of Hogwarts Castle. In answer to your third question...well lets just say that I have ways of finding things out."

Hermione was about to ask more questions when the door opened and two knights walked in. Hermione recognized one of them (with his raven black hair, green eyes, and lightning bolt shaped scar) as the knight whom had saved her from the troll. The other knight was a little taller. He had firey red hair and freckles plastered all over his face. He wore armor that was similar to the armor of the black haired knight, only that his was old, battered, and rusty though still in good condition. His head gear had two small horns sticking out on opposite sides of his visor. He too wore a red cape.

"Ah, most excellent timing," Dumbledore gestured toward the redheaded knight. "This is Sir Ronald Weasley."

Hermione gaped at the knight when she heard this. "The House of Weasley?" she asked. The House of Weasley was one of the oldest aristocratic families of the Gryffindor nobility.

Sir Ronald grinned. "Nope, the House of rats and mice." Apparently, sarcasm seemed to be second nature to him.

Dumbledore chuckled and gestured toward the other knight. "I believe you have already met Sir Harry Potter."

Sir Harry smiled. "Are you all right?" he asked with concern in his green eyes.

Hermione bowed her head. You have saved my life, Sir knight," she said. "I am forever in your grace's debt..."

"Please call me Harry," interrupted the knight. "And call him Ron. We really hate those ridiculous formalities that people use with us. And you can forget about that 'life debt'. I was only doing what any Mage Knight would have done so don't bother."

"Mage Knight?" asked Hermione.

"That's what we are," said Harry. "The Mage Knights are an order of knights with magical powers. Are mission is to protect the innocent and weak from evil and to uphold justice within the four kingdoms. Are current goal however, is the destruction of the Death Eaters."

"Death Eaters?"

"The rulers of the Kingdom of Slytherin," answered Ron.

Harry continued, "Years ago the Kingdom of Slytherin was a peaceful kingdom. However all of that changed when King Lucius inherited the throne about 25 years ago. He turned the entire kingdom around and brought in a cult known as the Death Eaters, of which he himself is a member of, into power. The Death Eaters live to either enslave or destroy those whom they consider inferior. They rule the Kingdom of Slytherin in a reign of terror. However, they weren't happy with just Slytherin and set about waging war on the other three kingdoms. Gryffindor was conquered 15 years ago and..." At this point, Harry stopped and closed his eyes. Apparently, he had recalled something painful.

"Anyways, we've been fighting Death Eaters ever since," finished Ron.

Hermione looked around. "Where is this place?"

"Hogwarts Castle is our Headquarters," said Ron. "Its located at the point where the borders of the four kingdoms meet. Furthermore, its unplottable so the Death Eaters can't find it unless all four kingdoms are under their control."

"Now I am sure that you would all like to continue conversing but I believe that Miss Granger deserves some rest," said Dumbledore. "There will be a meeting tomorrow and I would like for her to attend."

The three said their good byes and left. As the door closed, Hermione wondered about what she had gotten herself into.

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The next day, Hermione answered a knocking on her door to see an amazing sight. Outside of her door was a giant of a man about two times larger than the average human. He had shaggy black hair and a thick beard. He wore a huge moleskin coat and his beetle black eyes shone with kindness and warmth.

"'ello there," he said. "The name's Rebeus Hagrid. People call me Hagrid. I'm ter show yeh ter the Great Hall."

Hermione nodded dumbly, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the man. As Hagrid led her down the corridors she tried to strike up a conversation. "What do you do hear Hagrid?" she asked.

"I'm the keeper of the keys and game keeper 'ere. Namely, I look a'ter the animals that live aroun' Hogwarts and I make sure tha' they're treated righ'."

"Do you like it here?"

"I wouldn' trade fer anythin' at all. Ah we're 'ere now."

Hermione gasped at the sure size of the Great Hall. The ceiling appeared to be bewitched to show the sunny blue skies outside. Tapestries of many different colors were floating above four long tables. Seated around those tables were hundreds of Mage Knights all talking amongst themselves. As Hagrid led her down the Hall, Hermione was introduced to a number of the Mage Knights. There were Sir Justin Finch-Fletchley and Sir Ernie Macmilan, both with yellow capes. She was also introduced to a sad looking black haired woman, Sir Cho Chang. She had a blue cape. As Hermione was going through these introductions she felt an icy chill creep along her spine. She whipped around and saw that she was being glared at by a platinum blonde haired knight with cold greyish blue eyes. He wore a green cape and his visor was adorned with dragon wings. He had a nasty sneer and was glaring at her with the utmost malice. Hermione shivered and pointed him out to Hagrid.

"Oh, tha' would be Sir Draco Malfoy. Nasty bugger if yeh ask me," whispered Hagrid.

Hermione noticed Harry and Ron as they beamed at her when she took a seat at the high table next to Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled at her before he stood up to make an announcement.

"Knights of the Order," he spoke. "To my left is Miss Hermione Granger. Three days ago, Miss Granger lost her home and family in a Death Eater attack. Therefore, she shall be staying at Hogwarts for the time being. However, I am positive that she would not want her time here to be wasted. Therefore, though she is not of noble birth, I extend to her an invitation to be trained in the arts of combat and magic so that she may join us in the war against the Death Eaters. That is, of course, if she accepts."

Hermione was speechless. She spent a few minutes thinking about the offer but she could only come to one conclusion. The Death Eaters had taken everything from her and now she was being given the chance to strike back at them. Furthermore, she was being given a shot at a new life after her old one had been crushed. After a few moments, Hermione looked up and simply replied, "I accept."

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A/N YES! YES! YES! I GOT REVIEWS! I love you guys! So here 


	4. Days of Training

Disclaimer: It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

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Chapter 4: **Days of Training**

"Hey, wait up!"

Hermione turned around and so Sir Harry Potter running toward her. It was the day after she had accepted the offer to be trained for battle and she had just been wandering around the halls in a melancholy state, thinking about her family.

"Oh, hello." She offered him a weak smile.

"I just wanted to say that I admire you for the way that you are handling what's happened to you. I mean with your losses and all. And I also wanted to say that if you ever want to talk about it, I'm all ears. I mean, I know what its like to have know parents..."

"You do?"

Harry nodded. "My father and mother died when I was a year old. I spent ten miserable years after that living with my mother's sister's family. They were horrible to me; I think my aunt resented my mother or something. Anyways, it came as such a relief when I turned eleven and became a squire here at Hogwarts."

Hermione beamed and said, "Thank you Sir knight. I am thankful for your kindness..."

"Didn't I ask you to drop those formalities?" Harry smiled. "Anyways, good luck on your training. And if there's anything you need, just ask me or Ron."

Hermione thought for a moment and then grinned. "Does this place have a library?"

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During the following two months Hermione was trained in all forms of combat and magic. Being the naturally studious type, she excelled at magic as she was able to read up on how to perform tricky spells, charms, hexes, and curses. Within a span of weeks, Hermione magical powers rivaled and sometimes surpassed those of the Mage Knights. Unfortunately, she was not as fortunate in physical combat. It turned out that she was very good in defending herself with a staff, but there was no hope for her when it came to swords, spears, bows and arrows, or any kind of weapon for that matter. However, it didn't really matter since her abilities with magic and the staff made up for all her shortcomings with other weapons. If there was one thing that she was absolutely horrible at however, that would have to be riding a horse. She learned this the hard way by falling off three times before finally giving up.

Hermione pursued a number of activities during her free time. As it turned out, Hogwarts had one of the largest libraries in Magiterran, she spent hours in there simply absorbing the information the books provided. Sometimes, on bright sunny days, Hermione would be reading on a rock by the edge of the forest that surrounded the castle when she would be approached by a unicorn. She absolutely adored the beautifully pure creatures and would feel a little honored whenever they came to her since they only approached virgin maidens. Hermione also spent time with Hagrid who was as kind and gentle as anyone could get. She learned not to trust his cooking however, when she nearly broke her teeth on one of his rock cakes.

Hermione also spent time with the Mage Knights. As she grew more comfortable around them, she eventually managed to drop the formalities that had been grounded into her since childhood. In no time at all, she grew to become extremely close friends with Harry and Ron. Ron had a sarcastic attitude and a short temper that could explode with the slightest offenses. After the awkwardness of formalities had been dropped, he discovered that Hermione had a streak of bossiness and was a bit of a know-it-all; in other words, their personalities were bound to conflict, and it wasn't uncommon to hear the two arguing in a friendly squabble. Although on the surface, they seemed to be arguing all the time, they were actually very fond of each other and enjoyed the others' company.

Harry was another matter all together. He was kind and compassionate and always looked at Hermione with concern and sympathy in his green eyes. Hermione always felt the most safe and secure whenever she was with Harry and Harry was happy to be around Hermione. If there was one Mage Knight that Hermione could've stayed with at all times, that knight would have had to have been Harry. Harry, for his part, formed a special friendship with her and allowed her into a part of his heart that previously he had only let Ron into. Whenever she looked into his green eyes, Hermione saw a boy that had grown up deprived of love and had seen much sorrow and pain during his life. Sometimes, it took her all the will power she had to keep herself from holding him in her arms and comforting him.

One day, two months after Hermione had come to Hogwarts, there was a meeting in the Great Hall. After the initial chatter had died down, Dumbledore spoke up.

"Many of us here know that for years, we have been searching for the three magical talismans that aid us in the defeat of the Death Eaters. I am pleased to announce that the first of these three talismans, The Mirror of Erised, has been discovered in the Cave of Reflections within the borders of the Kingdom of Ravenclaw. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters have also discovered the whereabouts of the mirror. Therefore, I ask for volunteers to go and seek out the mirror and bring it back to Hogwarts before the Death Eaters find it."

Hermione, realizing that this could be her chance to prove herself, jumped up immediately. "I volunteer!" she shouted.

Dumbledore beamed. "I thought you might, Miss Granger."

"WHAT!" There was a sudden scream of outrage from across the Hall. Hermione saw that it had come from Sir Draco Malfoy. During the past two months, he had generally avoided her. "I protest! The peasant girl mustn't go on this quest! She's too weak! She will jeprodise the whole mission! She'll put us all at doom!"

Dumbledore spoke over all of Sir Draco's screams, "Sir Draco, I believe that Miss Granger is more than capable of going on this quest."

"I'm not comfortable about her going alone though," said Harry. "I, also, volunteer for this quest."

"As do I," said Ron.

Dumbledore beamed towards them. "Now that that has been taken care of, I wish you three good luck when you leave tomorrow. Meeting adjourned."

As the Mage Knights prepared to leave, Sir Draco walked up to Hermione. He spoke in a sinister hiss as he said, "I hope you're happy, Mudblood!"

Ron launched himself at Draco in fury but was held back by Harry whom looked ready to murder Draco himself. "Watch your language, Malfoy," he growled. Draco smirked and strolled away.

Hermione was confused. "'Mudblood'?"

"The most insulting word he could possibly use!" said Ron. "'Mudblood' is a term that some magical nobles use against commoners, or muggles as we call them, who have been trained in the arts of magic. They think that it should only be kept in the nobility. I mean most of us don't care: we believe that everybody has a right to be and pursue what they want. Its just, guys like Malfoy...well never mind."

"Just forget about it, ok?" said Harry. "We've got a long day tomorrow and I think we should all get some well deserved rest." With that, they all said their good byes and went to their respective rooms.

That night, as Hermione lay in bed that night, a great many things crossed her mind ranging from Sir Draco, the quest she was going on, and Harry. She sighed as she drifted off to sleep.

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A/N Well, that was Chapter 4. REVIEW! Constructive Criticism is appreciated. Next up: Harry fights a dragon (no its not the first task!), Hogsmeade is in trouble, and the first signs of H/Hr!


	5. A Dragon in Hogsmeade

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling. I own the plot of this God forsaken epic.

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Chapter 5: A Dragon in Hogsmeade

The small company left Hogwarts early the next morning. Hermione was wearing clothing that was explicitly designed for her. She wore a white underrobe and an open navy blue outerrobe over that. The underrobe had short sleeves that flared out from underneath the outerrobe that had no sleeves at all. She wore a red sash around her waist that made her robes fit her figure perfectly. Her white shoes went up to her ankles where they curled downward. They also had pointy ends. She was carrying a five foot long, oak staff that contained unicorn hair as it's core. It was from this staff that she was able to wield her magic powers: it also made a rather formidable weapon to wield.

Since she couldn't ride on a horse on her own, Hermione rode behind Harry on his magnificent white stallion, Firebolt. Ron's horse, Comet, though in perfect health, was a little too old to be carrying two people.

"Our first stop will be the village of Hogsmeade," said Harry. "Its the closest village to Hogwarts, takes less than a day to get there."

That turned out to be an understatement as they arrived at Hogsmeade in only a few hours, and they were going at a considerably slow pace.

Hogsmeade was a lovely sight. It was built entirely around a single main street and consisted of many artistic looking buildings. A large number of these were shops and it was clear that merchants flocked to the town on a regular basis. The marketplace was one of the largest Hermione had ever seen in her life. It was the perfect picture of a cheerful village lifestyle, except for one problem, it was a gloomy and melancholy atmosphere that they encountered. Curious, Hermione questioned one of the villagers about what was wrong.

"What is wrong?!" exclaimed the old man. "I'll tell you what's wrong! A month ago this village was attacked by a dragon! That's right, a dragon!"

Harry and Ron were shocked by this news. "Why didn't anyone send any news about this to Hogwarts?" shouted Ron.

"I'll tell you why," continued the old man. "The dragon struck a deal with us. If we fed him a virgin maiden once a month on the new moon, then he would spare our village. If we had sent for help to Hogwarts or to anywhere else, the dragon would've destroyed the village!" With this he sighed and pointed to an especially tearful looking man down the street. "See there? Tonight is the first New Moon since the deal was struck, and its his daughter that we're sacrificing. The poor bloke's has been killing himself with grief."

Hermione was doing some quick thinking before finally speaking up, "I fit the descriptions, I'll take the girl's place tonight."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the others present.

"We can't just leave them alone."

"Oh that's just bloody fantastic, Hermione," said Ron. "We'll just let you be killed tonight and then wait another month for the dragon to take the next girl."

"No, Ron!" hissed Hermione. "We're going to kill the Dragon."

"Its too dangerous for you, Hermione."

"I don't care, Harry. We are not leaving this village without helping these people out!"

Harry sighed and asked, "What kind of dragon is it?"

"I'm not entirely sure," answered the old man. "I think its a Ridgeback."

Harry mumbled something like, "It would've been a lot easier if it were a Vipertooth or a Short-Snout." He sighed and said, "Well, you've got yourself a couple of dragon slayers."

"What?!" shouted Ron. "We don't have time for this, Harry. Its not part of the mission, unless our mission is to allow the mirror to fall into Death Eater hands while we become a Ridgeback's midnight snack!"

"Look, Ron," said Harry. "Hermione's right. We're Mage Knights: we can't just walk away while innocent people suffer."

Ron grumbled, but in his heart, he agreed wholeheartedly with Harry and Hermione.

"That's settled then," said Hermione. "Well, we'd better start preparing."

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That night, at around 11 o'clock, the villagers led Hermione out to the top of a hill right outside of Hogsmeade where they tied her up to a post. Hermione wondered why that was necessary since she wouldn't have run away, but didn't question the villagers about it. It was clear from the expressions on the villagers' faces that they only thought they were buying an extra month till one of their own daughters would be tied up on the post.

Harry and Ron were hidden amongst the trees just a couple of yards away.

"I just hope this works," said Harry.

"Oh I dunno," said Ron. "Maybe we should just let the dragon eat her and that would be doing us a favor."

"This is no time to joke, Ron!"

"Sorry."

The minutes were dragging by slowly, and Hermione couldn't help but feel a sense of doom coming over her. She had volunteered to become the "sacrifice" in a sudden outburst of bravery, but it was only now sinking in that this could be the last hour of her life. She felt very frightened as she started shivering. However, she completely trusted Harry and Ron and knew in her heart that they would pull through for her.

Finally, midnight rolled by and the silence was broken by the sound of monstrous wings beating through the night air. Then, it was upon them. A huge black dragon with yellow eyes, bronze horns, and bronze spikes on its tail landed in front of Hermione with a roar! Hermione couldn't help it: she screamed out in terror!

"Ridgeback my eye!" shouted Ron. "That's a Horntail!"

"Great. The worst possible scenario," mumbled Harry. With that, he and Ron darted out of their hiding place to face the most dangerous of dragon breeds.

At first, the Horntail was startled to find knights there when it had only been expecting the girl. Harry used this to his advantage as he closed in on the dragon and swung his sword into it's right hind leg. The dragon roared in pain as it flung Harry off, sending him sprawling through the air. He landed with a horrible thud. The Horntail then breathed a burst of fire toward Ron. Ron dodged this by rolling to the side. However, before he could attack, the dragon sent him flying through the air with a swing of it's paw. Thinking that it had gotten rid of the knights, the dragon closed in on Hermione who was screaming again.

"Ron! Get Hermione untied!" shouted Harry as he leapt onto the dragon's tail! He made his way up the tail onto the dragon's back where he started hacking at it with his sword. The Horntail thrashed and managed to throw Harry off of its back, before shooting another burst of flame toward Ron who was making his way to Hermione. Ron dropped to the ground, thus avoiding the fire. He then scrambled his way to Hermione. With one swipe of his sword, Hermione was free. He then tossed her staff (which he had been carrying) to her.

Hermione immediately readied herself for battle. She held her staff up and shouted _"Stupefy!"_ Unfortunately, the curse didn't seem to have much effect on the dragon. Harry and Ron were once again hacking at it with their swords while avoiding the claws and flames while Hermione continued firing curses and hexes at the dragon.

As all of her curses simply glanced off the dragon's scales, Hermione tried to remember what she had read about dragons. "Dragons...dragons...powerful magical creatures...near invulnerable scales...vulnerable eyes...THE EYES!!!" Hermione pointed her staff and shouted _"Reducto!"_ The explosion caught the Horntail in it's left eye! The dragon roared in pain as it thrashed about! Ron tried to take advantage of the dragon's pain by attempting to severe the dragon's left fore arm. Unfortunately, the dragon got the better of him slapped him hard onto the ground, knocking him unconscious!

"Ron! No!" shouted Harry. He tried to make his way to his fallen best friend, but he was engulfed by the dragon's flames before he could get close enough! The dragon, then, swung it's tail at him, sending him flying across the field! He had dropped his sword as the Horntail closed in on him!

Hermione screamed, "Harry!" She threw down her staff and made a mad dash for his sword! As soon as she picked it up, she ran in between Harry and the dragon! Then, before she could think twice, Hermione charged and drove the sword into the dragon's chest!

The dragon gave a scream of pain before it collapsed and died: Hermione had stabbed it in the heart!

As soon as Hermione realized that the dragon was dead, she ran to Harry and threw her arms around him, catching him by surprise. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Are you ok?"

"I'm alright." She pulled back and examined his face for injuries. Her brown eyes locked onto his green ones. As she stared into his emerald pools, she felt an odd flip in her stomach and her heart rate climbed a little. She also began to notice how close they were and she barely registered that they were drawing even closer...

"Hey! Thanks for forgetting about me!" Harry and Hermione immediately sprang apart as the recovered Ron dragged himself to their side.

"Um...Er...we should get back to Hogsmeade and tell the villagers that the...Er...dragon is dead...Yeah." said Harry. He seemed to be nervous about something and his face was red. Hermione felt her face go red as well.

As they made their way back to the village, Hermione couldn't help but wonder about the sensation she felt, 'Am I falling for Harry? How could I let that happen? How can a farm girl ever fall for a noble knight?'

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A/N I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I was listening to the 'Harry Potter' Movie Soundtrack while writing this and the scene where the trio are fighting the dragon fits perfectly with the track for the Quidditch Match. If any of you haven't seen the movie yet, GO SEE IT! Thanks to those who've reviewed, I'd like more. Coming up next: _I show not your face but your heart's desire._


	6. The Cave of Reflections

Disclaimer: None of it is mine. It's all J.K. Rowling's

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Chapter 6: The Cave of Reflections

Darkness. The throne room was filled with darkness. Not just any sort of darkness: the sort of darkness that sucked away all light. The sort of darkness that spawned despair and drove away hope. On the throne at the end of the room sat a man with platinum blonde hair, cold greyish blue eyes, and majestic black robes. He was none other than King Lucius, ruler of the Kingdom of Slytherin. Circling him, were his comrades, the Death Eaters.

"What of the news of the Mage Knights?" asked Lucius.

A small, skinny man stepped forward. The most unusual aspect about him was his silver right hand. "Sir Harry Potter has set out to retrieve the Mirror of Erised. He is being accompanied by one of the Weasleys and a Mudblood."

"Remember your place, Wormtail," hissed Lucius. Wormtail cowered and stepped back.

"Oh come now, Lucius. Why not be a little more gentle on Wormtail?" said another younger man. He had scruffy blond hair, wore dark armor and chain mail, a black cape, and had two swords holstered on his belt. His name was Bartimeus Crouch II. "After all, it is because of him that James and Lily of Gryffindor are gone."

"But their son lives," said another man. He was well built and had a bristly mustache and wiry dark hair. His name was Walden McNair. "So long as their son is still alive, the Kingdom of Gryffindor could be reestablished."

"True," said Crouch II.

"What are we to do in the mean time?" asked a woman in dark, revealing robes. She was an exotic beauty with long, golden blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and olive skin.

"For the time being, Icicle, we should alert Quirrell about Potter's progress," said Lucius. "If no one has anymore to discuss than you are all dismissed."

As the Death Eaters exited the throne room, Icicle noticed a lone figure leaning on a pillar towards the back of the room. His arms were crossed and he was wearing a smirk on his face. He was very tall, had raven black hair, and was exceedingly handsome. He appeared to be around sixteen, but somehow, it was clear that he was really much older. He wore light silver armor and black robes and boots that gave him a shadowy look. He wore a black cape and had a sword holstered on his back. But the most striking feature about him were his glaring red eyes.

"Whatever are you doing here, sir?" asked Icicle in a tone that could only be described as reverence.

"Oh, I just wanted to see how Lucius was running the party," said the red eyed man. "A most excellent job he is doing," the sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable.

"He is doing his job. Nothing more."

"Great to know he's still running things. I suppose he's good enough," The red eyed man looked at Icicle. "Just remember to do your job as well. I'll check on you later." With that, the red eyed man disapparated.

************

After three days of being treated as heroes in Hogsmeade, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally left for their mission. Ron had been ecstatic about the treatment they had received, but Harry and Hermione had had enough. "Wasn't he the one who was complaining about staying to fight the dragon?" mumbled Hermione as they dragged Ron away from the village.

As the days passed, Hermione spent a good deal of the time wondering about her feelings. Every time she sat behind Harry on Firebolt, she felt her legs turn into jelly and her stomach would start to flip. At the same time, she felt incredibly safe and secure whenever she was with Harry. 'Am I falling for him?' she often wondered. 'How could I? Its just not supposed to happen.'

After journeying through the Ravenclaw hills for about a week and a half, the company finally came across the entrance to the Cave of Mirrors. It was built into a mountain near the sea and its entrance was only about as large as a door. It could have been missed easily if they weren't being careful.

When they entered, the first thing they noticed were four large mirrors that blocked their way. "Oh that's bloody fantastic," muttered Ron. "We come all this way only to groom ourselves."

"No, wait," said Hermione. "There must be some kind of trick." She studied each of the mirrors carefully. She eventually found something about the mirror on the furthest left; while it appeared to be a regular mirror, its reflection was missing the entrance to the cave! "Hey guys, come here." Hermione promptly took a step forward and simply walked through the mirror. Harry and Ron followed.

After walking for some time, the company came upon a huge chasm and with a thin stone bridge. In her eagerness to get to their goal, Hermione dashed to the bridge.

"Hermione, wait!" shouted Harry as he ran after her. It was too late. When Hermione put her foot on the bridge, she stepped through thin air! With a scream she started falling into the chasm! But, before she could fall into the depths of darkness, a hand reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. Hermione looked up and so that she was clinging to Harry's wrist for dear life. She felt herself go red as he pulled her back up onto the ledge. "Be more careful, ok?" he said. Hermione nodded dumbly as she tried to hide her blush and calm her beating heart down.

'Oh dear Lord, I've really fallen for him' she thought.

The bridge was an illusion created by a clever use of mirrors and their reflections that were place all around the chasm. After a couple of minutes, the company was able to work out where the bridge really was and were able cross with no problem.

They soon entered the last chamber, only to find someone already there. He was a young man with dark robes and a large purple turban on his head. "Welcome," he said. "I was waiting for you three to show up. It was becoming rather boring just waiting."

"And who may you be?" asked Ron.

"Quirrell," answered the man. "I would've taken the mirror and delivered it to my master all ready if I hadn't been eager to meet you. I figure that the deaths of two Mage Knights and a Mudblood would be good for my reputation amongst the Death Eaters."

Upon saying this, Quirrell snapped his fingers and twelve trolls burst in! "Kill them!"

The trolls raised their clubs and sprang onto them. Harry and Ron drew their swords and started deflecting the clubs. Hermione also started to do the same with her staff. She twirled it around with a certain gracefulness that completely conflicted with the way the trolls swung their clubs. Ron used carefully calculated moves to deflect the blows that were being thrown at him. He eventually caught the troll he was fighting off balance and shouted _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_ The troll lifted about twenty feet into the air! He then dropped it onto another troll, knocking the two out.

Harry used the trolls' attacks by using their momentum to swing himself behind them, whereupon he would bash them behind the head with the hilt of his sword. If that wasn't enough to knock them out, a good _"Stupefy!"_ would do the job. As he knocked another troll out, Harry chanced to notice another troll creeping up behind Hermione who was busy knocking out the one she was fighting. Harry shouted _"Expelliarmus!"_, disarming the troll, just when it was about to attack Hermione. Hearing the spell, Hermione swung her staff around and hit the troll right in it's throat, knocking it out. In a matter of minutes, all of the trolls were out cold.

"Why don't you fight yourself, you filthy coward!" shouted Harry.

"Very well then," said Quirrell. He then shouted _"Avada Kedavra!"_

Caught by surprise, Harry barely dodged the green light that issued from Quirrell. Quirrell wasn't finished. He again shouted _"Avada Kedavra!"_ before anybody had a chance to retaliate!

Quirrell laughed at the sight of Harry, Hermione, and Ron running from the bolts of green light issued from him. "You can't win, Sir Harry Potter. There is no way you can avoid the killing curse forever. _Avada Kedavra!"_

Harry knew that they couldn't keep up dodging the curses forever. Fortunately, he had already come up with a plan, though it was a bit of a risk.

__

"Avada Kedavra!"

This time, Harry didn't dodge the curse. Instead, he jumped right in front of it holding up a piece of a mirror! The green light hit the mirror and rebounded onto a shocked Quirrell!

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" screamed Quirrell as he fell down dead.

************

The company finally came up upon the Mirror of Erised. It was as high as the ceiling with a gold frame. Hermione read the inscription written on top of the tall mirror:

__

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi

She was able to figure out what it said fairly quickly:

__

I show not your face but your hearts desire

'So this mirror shows your heart's desire ' she thought.

She looked toward her side and saw Harry gazing at the mirror with a sad look on his face. 

"Harry, what do you see?" she asked.

"I see my parents," he said. She remembered his explaining to her that he was an orphan. "I see my father, he looks just like me, only that his eyes are different and he has no scar. My mother, she has long red hair and the same green eyes as mine."

Hermione felt like comforting him but decided against it. She then looked into the mirror and saw herself and Harry...'wait a minute? Me and Harry? Side by side? This...this is my heart's desire?!' Hermione was shocked by the reflection and with a pang to her heart, she realized the truth.

'I'm in love with Harry!'

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A/N I doubt that a mirror can really reflect the Avada Kedavra curse but this is my fanfic. So, we finally get to see the Death Eaters (who 


	7. The House of Weasley

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling's stuff. Not mine.

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Chapter 7: The House of Weasley

The Return to Hogwarts was very uneventful. Since they were journeying across lands they had already traveled across, they were able to make it back to the castle in a matter of days. As soon as they arrived, the mirror was taken by Dumbledore and a number of other wizards and witches whom seemed interested in examining the mirror in search of something. That was what was on Ron's mind as he was walking down the halls with Hermione one day.

"They've examining that thing for a long time now. What is it that they're searching for?"

"A hint to the location of the remaining two talismans," said Hermione. "Usually, the Mirror of Erised simply shows your heart's desire. But if you look into it with the desire to find something, in this case the remaining two talismans, the mirror will show you where to find and what they are. I'm willing to bet that nobody, not even Dumbledore, actually knows what the remaining two talismans are. In fact, I'm sure that we only needed the mirror as one of the three talismans for the sole purpose of finding the other two. Its those two that are the real key to the outcome of this war." She said all this very quickly.

Ron stared at her, his mouth hanging open. "Why is it that you always know about this kind of stuff when you've only been here for a few months?!"

"Honestly, don't you ever read?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked away from the grumbling Ron. She had different things on her mind: namely, her feelings for Harry. 'There is no way that a knight would ever fall in love with a lowly farm girl' she thought sadly. She decided that she was not going to act on her feelings; she would simply stand back and watch him find happiness in the arms of some deserving noble lady, no matter how heart breaking it would be for her.

************

The following day, Hermione was wandering around the Hogwarts ground when a beautiful, snowy white owl flew down to her bearing a letter. Hermione smiled at the owl as it landed on her shoulder.

"Hello Hedwig, do you have a message from Harry?"

Hedwig nipped Hermione's ear affectionately as she took the letter and started reading it.

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Dear Miss Hermione Granger,

You have been invited to the celebration of the 16th birthday of Lady Virginia Weasley. The celebration shall take place in three days at Weasley castle, also known as "the Burrow". We look forward to your attendance. Please come.

Lord Arthur and Lady Molly

House of Weasley

Hermione had heard of Lady Virginia: she was Ron's younger sister. She had never met her, or any of the Weasleys besides Ron for that matter, and wondered why she would be invited. However, Hermione knew how important birthdays were (she herself had turned 17 only a few weeks ago) and decided to accept the invitation. After all, she was positive that Harry would be there as well since it was Harry's owl that had carried the invitation.

************

"Just you wait till you meet my family," said Ron on the day of the celebration. "They're a weird bunch, especially my brothers."

"What do your brothers do for a living?" asked Hermione.

"Well lets see now...Bill works for Gringotts bank, Charlie travels around the Hufflepuff lands studying dragons, and Percy recently became Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Ravenclaw: thank God he's out of the Burrow. Oh, and Fred and George, they're twins by the way, became court jesters, much to my mum's horror, stupid gits. You may want to be careful around them. And of course, I'm a Mage Knight." At this point they had stepped in front of a fire place. Harry pulled out a jar filled with glittering powder.

"Is that Floo Powder?" asked Hermione.

"Nope, its a potion for beauty rest," said Ron with a grin on his face. Hermione sent him a death glare as Harry through the powder onto the fire. He then shouted "The Burrow!" as he stepped into the flames. He instantly disappeared and was followed by Ron. Hermione shouted "The Burrow!" as she stepped into the flames. After a whole lot of spinning, she tumbled out of another fireplace.

"Well, how was your first experience with Floo Powder?" asked Harry as he offered her his hand.

"Just fantastic," she said dryly. Her insides did a couple of flips as Harry helped her up. As soon as she was on her feet, Hermione looked around to observe her surroundings. Weasley Castle and it's surrounding lands were one of the few areas within the Kingdom of Gryffindor that was not under Slytherin control. She was standing in a great hall of a rather run down but cosey castle. There were two long tables that ran along the sides of the hall. The center of the room had been cleared out to make a dance floor that would be used at the celebration that night. The walls were decorated with scarlet tapestries, all with golden lions drawn on them: the symbol of Gryffindor. Hermione looked to her side and saw a number of people with the same red hair as Ron.

"Welcome Hermione," said a tall, slightly balding man whom could only have been Lord Arthur. "We've really been looking forward to meeting you." Lord Arthur Weasley was none to have a fascination with muggles and immediately took a liking of Hermione. He turned to Harry and said, "Thank you for lending us Hedwig to deliver the invitations. Errol would have collapsed if he were given the job."

"My pleasure," said Harry.

"Oh its so nice to finally meet you," said a plump woman next to Arthur: Lady Molly. "Ron and Harry have written so much about you that I feel like I know you well." She then, did something completely unexpected by throwing her arms around Hermione! Needless to say, Hermione was completely startled by this sudden display of motherly affection from a noble woman she had just met. She finally managed to stutter out a "Thank you."

She was then approached by another red head who seemed to be carrying himself around with high nobility and aristocracy: Percy. "Miss Granger, how absolutely delightful to meet your acquaintance," he said with much posh as he took a bow and stuck out his hand. Before she could shake it however, Percy was pushed aside by one of the twins: Fred.

"Miss Granger, how stupendously wonderful meet you," he said in a mocking tone as he shook her hand. He was then pushed aside by George who said "Absolutely smashing to meet you," as he shook her hand. Hermione stiffled a laugh as Percy scowled at Fred and George.

"Do you two always mock your brother like that?" she asked.

The twins made a serious face as Fred said, "Oh, only when he gets all posh and snobby."

George continued, "Which happens to be..."

"Once..."

"Or twice..."

"Every minute..."

"All day..."

"Shut up!" shouted a very irritated Percy. Lady Molly was scowling, but Harry and Ron were snickering.

"Anyway," said Fred with an innocent look on his face. "Would you like a piece of bread?" He offered her a small piece of bread.

"Why, thank you very much," said Hermione. Before she could eat it, however, Harry grabbed Hermione's wrist, took the piece of bread, and popped it into Fred's mouth. Ron and George started howling with laughter as Fred's hair turned blue! After a moments silence, Fred also started laughing.

'Oh, so that's what Ron meant by being careful around these two,' thought Hermione as she too laughed. She immediately stopped laughing when she saw a beautiful young red headed girl around the same age as her. Hermione suddenly became very aware of how plain she looked when she saw the noble girl who was none other than Lady Virginia. She was wearing a beautiful golden dress that brought out the full color of her hair. Her brilliant red hair was tied back in an elegant bun, leaving a few locks cascading around her face. She had a few, light freckles around her small nose and her chocolate brown eyes shone with life. What struck Hermione the most however, was affection those eyes showed they saw Harry. Hermione, all of a sudden, felt miserable.

"Does she fancy him?" she whispered to Ron.

"Fancy him?" said Ron. "She's absolutely crazy about him. Back when we were children, she always turned bright red and couldn't utter a single sentence right whenever Harry was around."

"Does he fancy her back?"

"I don't know. I never asked."

Hermione looked down sadly. If anybody were to be with a Knight like Harry, it would have to be a noble lady such as Lady Virginia. She was a farm girl. There was no competition what so ever.

"It is good to see you again, Sir Harry," said Lady Virginia as she kissed his cheek.

Harry smiled and kissed her hand. "It is good to see you too, milady."

Virginia then turned to Ron and gave him a hug. "I missed you, Ron."

Ron grinned as he hugged her back. "Really?" he said. "I thought you were hoping that I would be banished from this castle in a matchbox."

"Ron, shut up!" said Virginia as she pulled away. She then noticed Hermione and gave her smile, "You must be Hermione."

Hermione curtsied and said, "I'm am very honored, Lady Virginia, that you wish for a mere muggle-born as myself to attend your celebration of your sixteenth year. I am..."

"Please, call me Ginny," cut off Lady Virginia (or rather, Ginny). "And I don't want you to use such ridiculous formalities with me. You were invited because you're Ron and Harry's friend. Besides, I really wanted to get to know you and I hope we could really be friends." She then looked at Hermione's blue and white robes. "Do you have anything to wear to the celebration?"

Hermione was suddenly interested in her shoes. "No, these robes are all I own," she said sadly.

"We'll take care of that," said Ginny. She took Hermione's hand and pulled her out into the corridor. "I'll show you to your room," she said with a smile. "I'll dress you up in one of my dresses. You're going to look absolutely beautiful tonight."

As Ginny led her to her room, Hermione wondered if a lowly farm girl like herself could ever look as beautiful as the elegant Lady Virginia.

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A/N I made a calculation and this story is going to have..around..20 chapters. I hope people will be interested enough to last the entire story. Anyway, R/R. Coming up next: Ginny's birthday celebration! There will be feasts, music, and dancing! AND SOMEBODY KISSES HARRY!!! Dun Dun DUN!


	8. The Birthday Celebration

Disclaimer: The characters of this story belong to J.K. Rowling. The story is mine.

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Chapter 8: The Birthday Celebration

The Weasleys went all out for their only daughter's birthday celebration. The guest list itself was impressive with members of the nobility from the Kingdoms of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, a fair number of Mage Knights, A good number of Hogwarts trainers, and a number of other names well known to the inhabitants of Magiterran. Although the House of Weasley was one of the less fortunate of the nobility, due to the fall of the Kingdom of Gryffindor, they were still able to throw one of the biggest feasts ever to be served by house elves. They had also hired a large orchestra to play many of the songs that people were to dance to. They mostly played waltzes, but Fred and George managed to pass out some of their music which they were determined to have played: they called it "Latin" and "Swing".

In her room, Hermione was examining herself in the mirror. "You look lovely, dear," said the mirror. Hermione had to agree. She was dressed in an elegant sky blue dress that fit her form perfectly. The skirt flared out below the sash and the straps went around her upper arms, leaving her shoulders bare. Her normally bushy hair cascaded around her face in small ringlets. Her face had just the slightest hint of make up that highlighted her lips and eyes.

"Just perfect," said Ginny from across the room. "You really look gorgeous, Hermione."

Hermione looked towards Ginny who was wearing a similar dress, only hers was gold. "Thank you so much, for lending me this dress," she said. "I promise, I'll try not to spoil it."

Ginny waved a hand. "Don't bother," she replied. "Well, it is my birthday after all, so I'll go on ahead. You just relax and have fun. I'll see you later." With that, she took off to the feast.

Hermione admired herself in the mirror for a little while longer before heading out. In the corridor, she ran into Harry and Ron. Hermione turned red when she saw their mouths drop at the sight of her.

"You look beautiful," said Harry, a radiant smile on his face that made Hermione's insides melt.

Ron grinned. "Shall we escort you down to the hall, milady?" he said as both he and Harry offered her their arms. Hermione smiled and laced each of her arms through theirs. They proceeded to make their way to the Great Hall where the celebration was taking place. As soon as they got there, Hermione looked around for a number of familiar faces she knew would be attending. She saw recognized a number of Mage Knights who greeted the trio as they entered. To her surprise, she even saw Sir Draco Malfoy amongst the guests. It was well known that all of the Weasleys disliked Draco Malfoy and that he looked down on them. It was therefore surprising that he had been invited, as well as the fact that he had accepted. Draco did nothing more but simply stare at Hermione, making her a little uncomfortable. Hermione also recognized a number of Hogwarts trainers.

"All righ' there, yeh three?" called Hagrid as they made their way into the Great Hall. Hermione, Harry, and Ron beamed at him as they took their seats: Ron sat with his family at the high table while Harry and Hermione sat with the guests. As they ate, Hermione decided to observe the behavior of the many noble guests whom had attended: she was still a little uncomfortable about being the only common muggle-born at the celebration. She noticed Ron's brothers, Bill and Charlie, whom had arrived shortly after they had, chatting amicably with the Mage Knights. She also spotted Fred and George who were testing some of their inventions on various people, causing spontaneous bursts of laughter as people started to change into canaries or grow five-foot long tongues. One of their favorite targets was Percy, whom seemed really irritated as he was trying to impress various nobles.

Hermione picked up her goblet and took a sip. The drink tasted good and seemed to warm up her insides as it went down her throat. "What is this?"

"Butterbeer, one of the best drinks that exists," answered Harry.

After every one had eaten their fill, Lord Arthur stood up and took a hold of everyone's attention. "I wish to thank all of you for attending my daughter's sixteenth birthday celebration. I am pleased to see so many faces willing to turn up, despite the on going war against the Death Eaters. Now, the dance is about to start and I believe that it shall be opened by the lady of honor herself."

Upon hearing her father's speech, Ginny stood up and made her way towards Harry. "May I have this dance?" she asked him.

"It would be my pleasure, milady." Harry took Ginny's hand as the two made their way to the center of the dance floor. The orchestra started playing a slow tune and Harry and Ginny started to waltz around the dance floor. Hermione looked at them with a sad look on her face.

'They look so perfect with each other,' she thought sadly. 'A person like Harry deserves the best like Ginny. I am only the lowly farm girl who can only see her knight in shining armor find happiness in the arms of another woman, knowing that we can never be together.' Hermione's eyes started to get misty.

"Is something wrong, Miss Granger?" asked a voice right next to her, causing Hermione to jump. She turned around and looked into the face of Professor Minerva McGonagall, one of her Hogwarts trainers. She was a stern looking woman with, green robes, oval shaped glasses, and black hair which she never let out of her bun.

"Professor McGonagall, you surprised me," said Hermione, putting her hand on her chest.

McGonagall looked at Harry and Ginny, whom had now been joined by a number of other dancing couples. "And to imagine, he once told me he didn't dance," she muttered. She then looked at Hermione and said "You seemed to be miserable, Miss Granger. Whatever is the matter?"

"Oh it's nothing important."

"I see. Well, if you ever wish to talk about it, I would be more than willing to listen and to help."

Hermione gave McGonagall a small smile. "Thank you, Professor." She looked back toward the dance floor. Ginny had switched partners and was now dancing with a different Mage Knight. Ron was also dancing with a noble lady. Fred and George were also swinging around the dance floor, purposely disrupting many of the couples. Suddenly, Hermione noticed that Harry was standing right in front of her, with a small smile on his face.

"May I have this dance?"

"Wh...what?" stammered Hermione. "Y...you want t...to dance w...with me?"

Harry grinned. "Come on, Hermione. It'll be fun!"

"B...but, I can't dance!"

"Its easy. Just follow my lead and leave everything up to me."

Harry dragged a reluctant Hermione on to the dance floor and proceeded to waltz with her as the orchestra struck up another slow piece. After a few moments, Hermione found that dancing was indeed easy and was soon managing the steps without trouble. It was absolute bliss to be in Harry's arms, but at the same time, she felt very sad.

"Harry," she said trying to make conversation. "Do you ever think about...love?"

Harry looked surprised by her question. "What brought this up?"

"I'm just...curious."

Harry was silent for a while as they continued to waltz around the floor. Finally, he spoke up, "I grew up without parents, denied of any form of affection what so ever. Sometimes I wonder whether some one would ever love me. But what I do know is that if there is someone who actually falls in love with me, then I will try to love her back every bit as much as so great a woman deserves. Then, then we could raise a family, and I will be able to provide my children and my wife the love that I was always denied."

Hermione closed her eyes as she thought sadly 'Oh, Harry. I love you so much. And yet, we can never ever be together.' Tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Harry noticed the tears and frowned. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

Hermione couldn't hold it within herself anymore. She leaned forward and kissed Harry on the lips, completely shocking him. Then, before he could react, she tore away from the dance hall and ran straight to her room. She locked the door and cast a number of spells to make sure that no one disturbed her. After that, she flopped onto her bed, buried her face in her pillow and burst into tears.

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A/N Ack!!! That conversation between Harry and Hermione sucked! But I still had fun writing this chapter. Sorry NAPPA, it wasn't Ginny who kissed Harry. MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! Anyway, R/R. I've received the most reviews for chapter 7 so far and I am so happy. Coming up next: MARAUDERS STRIKE!


	9. A New Mission

I don't own any of the characters in this story, got that? They belong to J.K. Rowling.

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Chapter 9: A New Mission

"WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Lucius screams echoed throughout the chamber. Some of the Death Eaters shifted uncomfortably. Wormtail started shivering.

"It has been confirmed," said Wormtail. "Lords Sirius Black and Remus Lupin have returned to Magiterran. They have landed on the western coast of the Kingdom of Hufflepuff along with the exiled Gryffindor armies and are marching towards Hogwarts."

"As if the loss of the Mirror of Erised was bad enough," muttered Lucius. "The Mage Knights will probably figure out where the rings are within the next few days. Then, they'll probably gather all the armies in Magiterran, arm themselves with the rings and..."

"With all due respect," spoke up another, tall slim, Death Eater. "Black and Lupin will probably meet with the Mage Knights at Diagon Alley. If we attack them there, at their weakest, we could probably crush them before they've had a chance to mobilize at Hogwarts."

"That's a brilliant idea, Avery," said Lucius. "Why don't you and Crouch lead this mission. Oh, and take Wormtail with you. After all, he has some personal experience with Black and Lupin; Don't you Wormtail?" Wormtail shivered but bowed. "If there is nothing more, than you are all dismissed."

As the Death Eaters made their way out of the chamber, Icicle stole away and went down a different corridor. She entered a large oak door not to far from the throne room. The room was dark and had nothing more than a large wooden desk in the center of it. Seated behind the desk was the red eyed man.

"Next time you have a meeting, remind Lucius not to scream so much. It gives me a headache," said the red eyed man without looking up from the book he was reading.

Icicle swallowed before she spoke up. "What do you think of these events?"

"Let Black and Lupin meet the Mage Knights for all I care," said the red eyed man. "I, for one, am more interested in this mudblood that Potter has befriended."

Icicle was about to speak more when she suddenly jumped. A Large green snake had just slithered past her feet. "Calm down. It is only Nagini," replied the red eyed man as he stroked the snake. He then looked up at Icicle. "You know, I think I'll pay Potter and his mudblood friend a visit myself."

************

Hermione absolutely refused to speak to Harry for the remainder of the visit to the Burrow. As soon as they returned to Hogwarts, she shut herself into the library and only emerged during meal times. It was while she was reading in the library when Harry finally cornered her.

"You've been avoiding me." Hermione kept her eyes on her book. Harry sighed. "Look, is this about that kiss? You're the one who kissed me."

Hermione felt tears starting to build up in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean anything by it. It just...happened."

Harry raised his eyebrows, by decided to let it pass. "If you're thinking that I would start to hate you just because of some kiss, you're wrong. You're my friend, Hermione. I would never throw away our friendship over something as stupid as that."

Hermione let a few tears fall as she smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry. That means so much to me. I promise that I won't do anything stupid like that again."

Harry grinned. "Don't worry about that. Now how can I get you to ride Firebolt all by yourself?"

"Oh honestly," said Hermione as she rolled her eyes. "Haven't you seen me on a horse?"

************

As the Mage Knights filed into the Great Hall of Hogwarts, many murmurs such as "Finally, we're going to kick Lucius's butt." Were heard. Hermione noticed that Sir Draco Malfoy stiffened a little every time Lucius's name was mentioned. She had long figured out that the Mage Knights wore different colored capes depending on which Kingdom you came from: Gryffindors wore red capes, Hufflepuffs wore yellow ones, Ravenclaws wore blue, and the Mage Knights who members of the Slytherin Resistance against the Death Eaters wore green capes. She decided that since Sir Draco was a member of the Slytherin nobility, he must've had some personal dealings with Lucius.

As the Mage Knights took their seats, Dumbledore stood up and started speaking. "As all of us here know, we have recently secured the Mirror of Erised due to the efforts of Sir Harry Potter, Sir Ronald Weasley, and Miss Hermione Granger." He beamed at the trio while Sir Draco scowled. "After much examination of the mirror, we have finally discovered the location of the remaining two talismans that are the key to victory. They are two rings, the Ring of the Lion and the Ring of the Phoenix. They are located in a cave in the middle of the former Kingdom of Gryffindor. However, the cave can only be entered during the full moon. Therefore, we have an entire week to prepare for the next mission. In the mean time, I must remind that today is the second anniversary of the loss of Sir Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff." Suddenly, the entire hall went quiet. Hermione saw a tear roll down Sir Cho Chang's face and she also notice that Harry had taken on a very dark look. "Remember, Sir Cedric Diggory," continued Dumbledore. "Let us dedicate our victory to his memory."

As the Mage Knights started to clear out of the Great Hall, Dumbledore called out "Sir Harry Potter. May I have a word?" As Harry left to talk to Dumbledore, Hermione turned to Ron.

"What happened to Sir Cedric?"

Ron sighed. "Two years ago, Harry and Diggory were working as partners on a mission. They were investigating a rumor that Death Eaters were using dragons to terrorize many of the villages in the Kingdom of Hufflepuff. One day, Harry got a tip that led them to an old grave yard near a known Death Eater hideout. It was a trap! They were attacked by an entire legion of Death Eaters who were there simply to kill Harry. Harry barely escaped with his life, Diggory never made it." Hermione felt a stab in her heart as she realized Harry must have gone through. Ron continued, "Harry was absolutely torn up by Diggory's death. The trap was for him, yet he escaped while Diggory was killed. Sir Cho Chang also went through a lot of pain. She and Diggory were lovers."

Hermione felt awful receiving this news. It was, therefore, a little awkward when Harry returned with a large smile plastered on his face. "Pack your bags. We've got a new mission," he said. "We're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

"What for?" asked Hermione.

"Two words," answered Harry. "Sirius and Remus."

"That's three words," commented Hermione. Ron looked ecstatic.

"No bloody way! We haven't seen them for over a year! They've come back?! Did they bring the Gryffindor armies back with them?!"

"Yep! We're going to meet them at Diagon Alley and Escort them back to Hogwarts."

Hermione suddenly realized who Harry and Ron were talking about. Lords Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Generals of the armies of Gryffindor and closest friends of the late King James and Queen Lily. As Hermione looked at Harry and Ron chatting away, Hermione couldn't help but wonder why Harry would be so happy about seeing the personal friends of the Gryffindor Royal family.

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A/N I'm sure all of you have noticed but I try to update at least once a day. I believe you would all appreciate that since there are going to be a number of cliffhangers showing up in the later chapters. Sorry, this chapter was short. Please review anyway. Next: vampires, Diagon Alley, more on the red eyed man, and the trio and Marauders unite!


	10. Vampires in Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Belongs to J.K. Rowling.

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Chapter 10: Vampires in Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley was the great shopping center for Magiterran. Every street was lined with shops bustling with goods with price ranges from the easily affordable to the ridiculously expensive. People of all sorts of status gathered here, whether they be common muggle or noble. It was located right on the border of the Kingdom of Hufflepuff and The Kingdom of Gryffindor, making it accessible to most travelers in Magiterran. Ron was completely in his element as he pointed out different stores to Hermione.

"That marble building over there is Gringotts Bank, my brother Bill works there. Its run by goblins, tricky lot they are. Over here's Honeydukes, best candy in Magiterran. Madam Malkins, you can get new robes there if you want. Oh, and we can't forget Ollivanders. All Mage Knights receive the magical cores for their weapons there. And over here is Zonko's. Joke shop, perfect place for Fred and George."

"Is there a bookstore?" asked Hermione.

Ron grumbled. "Nope, the entire population's illiterate." When Hermione's eyes went wide, he continued "Of course there's a bookstore. Flourish and Blotts. Just down the street here."

Hermione glared at him but decided to let it go. "Where's Harry?"

"At Eeylops Owl Emporium. He needs to get some treats for Hedwig, and I asked him to get something for my owl, Pigwedgeon. That way, Pig won't be such a royal pain in the....oh, excuse me Hermione."

Hermione looked up to see what had suddenly caught Ron's attention. It was a chess game between an old man and a young girl. It was clear that the girl was losing as she didn't have to many pieces left. Ron studied the chess board for a few moments before asking the girl "Mind if I make a move for you?" The girl shrugged. Ron moved a bishop three squares and announced "Three more moves until checkmate." Sure enough, The girl checkmated the old man in three moves.

"Where did you learn to play chess?" asked Hermione.

Ron shrugged. "Just happens to be one of my talents."

It was dark when the two made there way to the Leaky Cauldron, the inn where they were staying at. They met Harry there who was carrying a large basket and a huge grin on his face. He caught Ron's eye who grinned back, then he turned to Hermione. "Hey," he said. "I got you something."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Harry! You shouldn't have..."

Harry cut her off, "Consider it a belated birthday present. I figured it wasn't exactly fair that I have Hedwig and Firebolt and Ron has Pigwedgeon and Comet so I got you him. He's not an owl or a horse though."

Hermione looked inside the basket Harry had given her. Inside was a fluffy, orange cat. "Oh, Harry! He's adorable! Thank you so much." She gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and picked up the cat. "Hello, Crookshanks. How are you today?" Crookshanks started purring.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Crookshanks?"

"I happen to like the name very much, thank you!" replied Hermione.

Ron was about to say more when the warning bell suddenly started ringing! "Attack! Slytherin warriors have attacked!" Harry, Hermione, and Ron all shared a look that said, 'Death Eaters? Here?' The three made a mad dash into the streets when are dark figure swooped down on Hermione! It would've passed for human if hadn't have been for the pale skin, glowing violet eyes, and the large fangs! Harry pushed Hermione aside and plunged his sword into the figure's heart, whereupon it screamed crumbled into dust. It was then that Hermione noticed the name written on Harry's sword for the first time: _Godric Gryffindor_. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to wonder why Harry had a sword that had apparently belonged to the founder of the Kingdom of Gryffindor.

"Vampires!" shouted Harry. "They're using vampires! This is going to make the job a lot more harder! Ingenious!"

Suddenly a voice drawled behind them, "Oh, I don't know. I personally think its a ridiculous plan." Harry, Hermione, and Ron whipped around.

They saw a man leaning on a wall at the entrance way to an alley. He appeared to be the same age as them but Hermione could some how tell that he was a lot older. He was very tall and wore silver armor, black robes and boots, and a black cape. On his back was a sword with a hilt that was decorated with emeralds. He was exceedingly handsome with raven black hair, and Hermione couldn't help but notice a resemblance between him and Harry. But the most striking feature about him were his eyes: they were blood red! Red in the direct opposite way that Harry's were green!

"And who may you be?" growled Ron. The red eyed man made a malevolent grin that sent shivers down Hermione's back.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, at your service," he said with a polite bow.

"Are you our enemy? Are you a Death Eater?" asked Harry. Hermione saw that he seemed to have a little pain in his scar.

Riddle smirked. "I am not exactly a Death Eater. My loyalties don't go to King Lucius. However, since I am on their side, I am most definitely your enemy." Harry and Ron started advancing on him, but Riddle simply put up his hands and continued, "Now, now, now, I'm not here to fight you, Sir Harry Potter. If you must know, I simply came here to observe HER." Hermione suddenly felt cold as Riddle gestured towards her.

"And why is that?" demanded Harry.

"Wouldn't you like to know," replied Riddle. He grinned and said "It's been good seeing you **again**, Potter. Good bye." With that, he disapparated.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't have time to reflect on their meeting with Riddle as more vampires jumped on them! The three used all the skills and spells they knew to fight off the vampires but there were too many of them. "This isn't working!" shouted Harry as he decapitated one vampire. He stopped another vampire in mid air by shouting _"Impedimenta!" _Next to him Ron blew up three vampires with a good _"Reducto!"_ It was clear that he was getting exhausted. Hermione was doing some quick thinking.

"I've got it!" she suddenly shouted. "I've read all about vampires."

"What haven't you read about?" muttered Ron. Hermione ignored him.

"Hold them off for a few moments," she said. "I'll be right back." She ran to a tall building and said _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_ She levitated herself to the buildings roof. She was just about to implement her plan when she was suddenly grabbed by a vampire! It dragged her to floor and proceeded to sink it's fangs into her neck! Before it could, though, Hermione shouted _"Incendio!"_ The vampire screamed as it caught on fire! Hermione lost no time as she pushed the burning vampire off of her and stood up. She lifted her staff up and shouted _"Lumos Solarum!"_ A sudden blast of sunlight erupted from Hermione's staff! It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to crumble every vampire in Diagon Alley to dust!

Hermione rejoined Harry and Ron who were examining the damage. "That was ruddy brilliant, Hermione!" Ron shouted. He was beaming. "I didn't think you had it in you!"

Harry gave her a smile but remained quiet. He was searching for the Death Eaters who had brought on the attack. He finally located them trying to escape to the outskirts of the city. One of them had a gleaming silver right hand. "Wormtail!" growled Harry. He placed two fingers on his lips and blew out a shrill whistle. Firebolt came trotting out and Harry jumped on his back. He then galloped down to the fleeing Death Eaters.

Wormtail looked up and saw Harry galloping towards him. His right hand, suddenly conjured up a gleaming blade! The sound of metal hitting metal rang throughout the night as Harry's sword and Wormtail's blade met! Harry reared Firebolt up and swung his sword, underhand. He managed to knock Wormtail off of his feet. Wormtail scrambled back up as Harry rounded Firebolt around. He deflected another one of Harry's blows and used some kind of magic to fly himself up to the rooftops.

Wormtail would have escaped if a large, black, bear-like dog hadn't ran up and bowled Wormtail down! The dog suddenly transformed into a tall man. He had long black hair that was pulled into a pony tail, was wearing grey armor and a black cloak that looked travel worn, was carrying a large sword, and had a haunted look in his eyes. "Why hello, Peter!" he snarled.

"Sirius!" called out Harry. The man, who was evidently Lord Sirius Black, beamed at him before turning his attention back to Wormtail.

"S...Sirius!" stuttered Wormtail. Sirius advanced on him.

"This is for Lily and James!" Sirius swung his sword at Wormtail who deflected the blow with his blade! Sirius spun around and used his momentum to make another swing at Wormtail who again blocked! Sirius immediately went on the offensive as he continually swung his sword at Wormtail, having each blow be deflected. Wormtail, finally took a chance and managed to land a kick on Sirius! He disapparated as fast as he could. Sirius cursed loudly, sighed, and went to join Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Harry! How have you been?!" he shouted as he and Harry embraced.

"Just fine Sirius," Harry smile quickly faded. "What about the other Death Eaters?"

"Most of them escaped," said a voice from behind them. It came from a man who was wearing the same kind of cloak and armor as Sirius. He had brown hair that was flecked with grey, and he had tired but lively amber eyes. He was riding a chestnut colored horse. "But one of them was killed in the fight, Avery I think." This man was clearly Lord Remus Lupin.

"Hello Remus," Harry smiled at him.

Remus smiled back. "I think we should all talk. We'll see you at the Leaky Cauldron." He turned his horse around went trotted toward the inn. Sirius followed. After a while Harry, Hermione, and Ron also made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron and Hermione couldn't help but wonder how Harry knew two of the Gryffindor Royal family's best friends so well. She knew that Harry was from nobility but she hadn't heard about any House of Potter that seemed to be close to the Royal Family. In fact, now that she thought about it, she hadn't ever heard of any House of Potter at all!

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A/N Just wanted to clarify one thing: in the case of Mage Knights, even female ones are called "Sir" as different from regular knights who are called "Dame". Well spotted hermioneharry4ever, but I can't answer your questions yet. Rest assured, Harry and Hermione will get together. Well, Hermione is starting to make the first connections between Harry and his family. Anyway, review. Next: we learn more about the Marauders and Harry's past.


	11. Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs

Disclaimer: Me no own. J.K. Rowling all own.

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Chapter 11: Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs

About an hour later, the entire company was sitting in one of the booths at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry and Ron introduced Hermione to Sirius and Remus and the five started chatting amicably.

"So how's Hogwarts these days?" asked Remus. "Dumbledore still guardian?"

"Yep," answered Harry. "We're very lucky to still have him. It seems the Death Eaters are getting more desperate these days."

"They should be!" declared Sirius. "Now that the Gryffindor armies are back in Magiterran, the old days will come back soon! The Kingdom of Gryffindor will be reestablished!"

"Calm down, Padfoot," hissed Remus. "You don't want to cause a scene!"

"Aw, shove it, Moony," laughed Sirius. "You're just as excited as we are and you know it!"

Harry and Ron laughed but Hermione seemed a little confused. "Moony? Padfoot?"

"Our old nicknames," said Remus. "Harry's father was Prongs." When he said this, everyone stopped laughing.

Sirius sighed. "You know Harry," he said. "You look more like Prongs every time I see you. Except your eyes, you've got your mother's eyes."

Harry gave him a sad smile. "Yeah, I know. Everyone tells me that."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Sirius sighed again. "I remember when we were all squires back at Hogwarts. It sure seems like a long time ago. Moony, Prongs, and myself would go sneaking around the castle during night and we would play pranks on unsuspecting Slytherins."

Remus laughed. "We sure gave McGonagall a number of grey hairs. I don't think there have ever been any master pranksters at Hogwarts since the four of us." He suddenly shut his mouth as if he had let on too much. Hermione didn't miss it.

"Four?"

"There was one more member in our group," said Remus.

"Wormtail," spat Sirius.

Hermione's eyes went wide. "The Death Eater?" All four Mage Knights nodded glumly.

"Peter Pettigrew, that's his real name by the way, was a member of the Gryffindor nobility and a close friend of James and Lily, like we were. At least, that's what we thought," said Remus. "But he betrayed us. He sold Lily and James to the Death Eaters."

"The dirty rat!" shouted Sirius. "Must've been the finest hour of his miserable life when he handed James and Lily to the Death Eaters on a silver platter." He looked positively livid. Ron had a look of disgust on his face while Harry radiated a silent anger.

Hermione thought for a moment. 'So Wormtail is the reason the Royal Family is dead. Wormtail is the reason that the Kingdom of Gryffindor no longer exists. Wormtail is the reason why we have been living under the yoke of Death Eater rule for 16 years. Wormtail is the reason why so many of us have lost every thing; why I've lost everything.' Hermione felt a silent anger run through her veins.

"Anyway, enough heavy talk," said Sirius with a mischievous grin. "So, Harry miboy. You found any love in your life? Are the ladies throwing themselves at you?" He said all this in a sing-song voice. Hermione felt her heart plummet.

Ron and Remus laughed while Harry frowned and said "Be serious."

"I am Sirius."

Harry sighed. "Nope, hasn't happened."

"Oh come off it, Harry," said Ron with a grin. "Everyone knows that you're the most eligible Mage Knight in all of Magiterran."

Hermione looked down at her tankard of butterbeer sadly. Remus seemed to notice and abruptly changed the subject. "So will you be escorting us back to Hogwarts tomorrow?"

Harry raised his eyebrows at the sudden change of subjects but let it pass. "That's right. We should leave first thing in the morning. How many soldiers came back?"

"Seven thousand," answered Remus.

Harry nodded. "Excellent. We've already got ten thousand each of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and two thousand from the Slytherin Resistance. Plus about eight hundred Mage Knights. That should be quite a good number for the great battle don't you think?"

Sirius grinned. "The combined armies of all four Kingdoms against a bunch of cultists and their monstrous creatures. How much easier can it get?"

"Don't be so sure," said Remus. "The Death Eaters are a very powerful force to be reckoned with."

"Come on, Moony" said Sirius. "Be a little more optimistic. Prongs would've definitely been looking on the bright side of things if he were here now."

Remus sighed. "I know, Padfoot."

"Moony and Padfoot are going to strike again," said Sirius. "Prongs will be avenged and Gryffindor will once again be a kingdom." He struck on his fist on the table.

"Well, its getting late now," said Harry. "If we're going to have an early start tomorrow, we should get some sleep." The others agreed and stood up. As they were making their way to their rooms, Hermione passed by a portrait of Queen Lily. She decided to stop and look at it a bit.

'How does it feel,' wondered Hermione, 'to be betrayed by one you've trusted with your life? Did you feel hatred towards Pettigrew when you found out what he had done? Did you curse his name and wish death upon him? Or were you willing to forgive him? Were you willing to extend him that forgiveness for which you were so well known for? Would I be able to do the same if what happened to you happened to me?'

Hermione studied the portrait as the Queen smiled kindly at her. Lily was a beautiful woman whose beauty Hermione admired and envied a little. Her wavy, dark red hair fell down to her waist. And her emerald green eyes shown with love and kindness. 'Wait a minute,' she thought. Hermione studied the eyes a little closer. This was the first time she had looked at a picture of Lily in detail and she couldn't help but shake the feeling that she had seen those eyes somewhere before. They radiated with a sense of warmth that made Hermione feel protected. Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew those eyes. However, she felt very tired and decided to think about it some other time. She went back to her room, laid down on her bed and fell asleep.

************

An old merchant was traveling through the country paths. He had been hoping to arrive at Diagon Alley before dark but had ended up behind schedule when he had gotten lost. As he was hurrying to get to his destination, he chanced to see a man with glowing red eyes heading toward a lake. Though the merchant had no way of knowing this, the man's name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. Curiosity getting the better of him, the merchant decided to see what the man was up to and followed him.

Riddle walked up to the edge of the lake and peered across the water. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but what emerged from mouth was not a voice, but a hiss. He continued hissing and spitting at the water for a while before stopping. After a moment of silence, ripples started to form across the surface of the lake. The old merchant nearly screamed when something stuck it's head out of the water.

It was a snake! A monster snake! It was about fifty feet long and as thick as an oak tree! It had a bright, poisonous green color, enormous fangs, and a rooster's crown on it's head! But the most frightening thing was that the serpent was hissing and spitting at Riddle and Riddle was hissing and spitting back! With a lurch in his stomach, the merchant realized something: 'this man talks to snakes!'

The merchant decided that it would be best to make a quick get away. Unfortunately, he stepped on a twig, catching Riddle's and the serpent's attention. The last thing he ever saw were the basilisk's yellow eyes!

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A/N CLIFFHANGER!!! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! I love all of my reviewers so far, you guys have been great! I've got over 60 now! So continue reviewing! I'll post chapters quicker if you review more! Next: the basilisk strikes! And Sir Draco Malfoy makes and appearance.


	12. Attack of the Basilisk

Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, I must be J.K. Rowling.

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Chapter 12: Attack of the Basilisk

Hermione had never seen such a large gathering of people in her life. Seven thousand soldiers (swordsmen, spearmen, archers, cavalry) were marching towards Hogwarts. All of them wore shining, silver armor, red capes, and had a golden lion painted into their shields. There was a positive atmosphere in the air as all of the soldiers were clearly overjoyed to have finally returned to their beloved homeland after years of exile.

Sirius and Remus, now in red capes as well, were directing the soldiers and were keeping order by organizing ranks. They constantly trotted along side the soldiers and made sure that nothing was out of hand. The Gryffindor soldiers, since Lords Black and Lupin were there commanding generals, treated them with high respect, but Hermione was amazed that the soldiers treated Harry with the same, possibly even more respect. It was almost like they deferred to Harry over Sirius and Remus.

Harry suddenly stopped Firebolt. "What's wrong?" asked Hermione, who was riding behind him.

"I heard a voice," answered Harry. He ordered for quiet and started listening. He seemed to be a little worried. After a while, he sighed. "Its gone. Probably just some random snake. Don't worry about it."

Hermione was just about to ask what he meant by 'random snake' when she caught sight of a horseback rider, galloping towards them. She saw that it was Sir Draco Malfoy astride his black mustang, Nimbus.

"Oh look," said Ron. "Its Ferret boy."

"Nice to see you too, Weasel," sneered Draco. He turned to Harry. "I've got a message from Dumbledore. He wants you to set out and find the two rings, tonight."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "He wants me to go find the rings?"

"Not you, Potter," Draco pointed at Hermione. "Her."

Harry's and Hermione's eyes went wide. "WHAT?! Why me?!"

Draco scowled. "You think I'm happy about this? I wanted to go look for the rings myself!"

"Then why aren't you?" smirked Ron. "Having second doubts about standing up to Daddy?"

Draco looked furious. "You know full well Weasley, that I no longer have any loyalties to my father!"

"Humph, well maybe I'm not convinced, Malfoy." growled Ron.

Remus and Sirius butted in. "All right you two," said Remus. "Lets settle this somewhere else..."

"What does it take to convince you, Weasley?" continued Draco.

"How about a new attitude?! Oh, now there's something you can't buy!"

"How would you know? You probably couldn't have afforded one."

"Oh, going to call Daddy for Help?"

"You keep Father out of this!" yelled Draco, clearly Furious. Hermione wondered why Draco was so touchy about his father.

"MAKE ME!" Ron yelled back.

Draco was about to retort when Harry suddenly shouted "QUIET!!!" Ron and Draco were completely stunned while Harry strained his ears, listening at something. "There's that voice again...'let me rip...tear...kill...I smell blood...I smell...' Oh My God." Hermione had never seen Harry so pale as he quietly said "Run." Then, he shouted "RUN!" A second later, Hermione found out why!

A fifty foot long, poisonous green snake burst from forest and started snapping at the soldiers! Hermione only had a chance to glimpse at it before Harry turned her away. "Whatever you do," he shouted, "don't look into it's eyes!"

Hermione immediately understood. It was a basilisk! The king of serpents. Arguably the most dangerous creature in existence! Sure it was poisonous, but it's deadliest weapon was it's fatal stare: anybody who looked a basilisk directly in the eyes would be killed instantly! Hermione noticed that everyone who had visors were lowering them over their eyes. An indirect stare at a basilisk's eyes would cause petrification, but she figured that it would be better to be petrified rather than dead.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Remus, and Sirius took cover behind some large trees. "I don't know how, but this is all your fault, Malfoy!" shouted Ron.

Draco glared at him. "You think that I lured the basilisk here?"

"Will you two stop arguing for a moment?!" shouted Harry. "I'm going to speak with the snake: try to convince it to go away."

Hermione thought Harry had gone mad. "Are you crazy?! How can you talk to that thing?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm a Parselmouth. I can speak to snakes."

Hermione was shocked by this revelation. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You never asked."

Before Hermione could say anything more, Harry stepped away from the company and calmly walked towards the attacking basilisk! A number of soldiers had already been petrified. Hermione saw Harry open his mouth, but instead of words, she heard him hiss and spit. She heard the basilisk started hissing and spitting back at him. They exchanged hisses for a couple of moments when the giant snake became angry and started thrashing out! Harry darted back to the hiding place!

"What did you say?" hissed Hermione.

Harry actually looked embarrassed. "Er...well...I asked him what he wanted...he told me that he was under orders to destroy us...I asked him if he would leave us alone...he...er... he insulted me...I...um...I insulted him back...that...uh...made him angry...and...you know the rest."

"Smooth, Potter," drawled Draco.

"Well lets not just sit around and do nothing about it!" shouted Ron. "Attack!" Before anyone could stop him, Ron gave a war cry and charged at the basilisk, waving his sword over his head! A second later, the company heard a scream and a thud.

"That must mean he's been petrified," muttered Sirius.

At that moment, the king of serpents lashed at the trees that were hiding the company and knocked them down! The Mage Knights scattered as wood and snake fangs started flying their way! Harry and Hermione took refuge behind a small boulder.

"We can't keep this up much longer!" shouted Harry. "At this rate we're all going to end up as a bunch of stiffs!" He didn't elaborate on whether he meant as dead or as stone.

Hermione, however, was doing some quick thinking. "Harry. What animal is a basilisk's natural enemy?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "That's easy: griffins. But we don't have any griffins here with us."

"I was thinking about something smaller than a griffin." said Hermione. She picked up a small rock and placed it on top of the boulder. She muttered a couple of well chosen words and transfigured the rock into...a rooster? Harry was about comment when the rooster crowed. As soon as the giant snake heard the rooster crow, it shrieked in pain and keeled over! It was dead!

Needless to say, everyone was shocked. "Wh...what? H...how?" spluttered Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, don't you read? A rooster's crow is fatal to basilisks."

Sirius, Remus, and Draco, were prodding the snake's corpse to make sure that it was indeed dead. Harry beamed at Hermione, causing her to blush. "You know, Hermione," he said. "You are absolutely brilliant. What would I ever do without you?" Hermione smiled back at him.

************

Not too far from there, Tom Marvolo Riddle was surveying the scene with interest. Despite the fact that his basilisk had just been killed, he actually seemed pleased with the outcome.

"Intelligent...very intelligent," muttered Riddle to no one in particular. "That mudblood seems to possess a level of intelligence that it is quite rare. She definitely is an added bonus to the Mage Knights. I wonder, if it's all really a coincidence." He became silent before he said "Perhaps she is the one to be feared most of all. She and Potter."

Riddle looked closer at Hermione and noticed the way that she was looking at Harry. He also noticed the way that Harry was looking at Hermione. A malevolent grin came to Riddle's face. "Interesting."

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A/N I was trying to make a serious, action filled chapter, but somehow this chapter ended up comedic. All well, its probably better this way. And it was a lot of fun! HA HA HA! So anyway, R/R. Coming up next: everyone's "favorite" greasy haired potions professor makes a cameo appearance!


	13. The Potions Master

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling hasn't given me her characters. I'm just borrowing.

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Chapter 13: The Potions Master

"Well, things could've been worse," said Remus as he examined the scene. Luckily, none of the Gryffindor soldiers had been killed in the basilisk attack. However, around fifty soldiers, including Ron, had been petrified.

"Yeah," grinned Sirius. "Every single one of us could've been petrified. Then some merchants would've come and sold us off at some statue auction."

Remus ignored him as he helped move petrified soldiers around. He laughed at Ron's expression which was set on a combination of astonishment, horror, and adrenaline rush. "I'd hate to be wearing that expression for the rest of my life."

"The cure for petrification is mandrake draught," said Hermione with a matter of fact tone. She looked up at Remus. "Do you know where we can get enough mandrake draught to cure fifty petrified people?"

Remus started stroking his chin. "Actually, if I recall right, there is a potion master who lives near here. He'd be perfectly capable of brewing us some mandrake draught."

"Really? Who is he?" asked Sirius.

Remus looked at Harry and Sirius and grinned. "Actually, you two know him. Quite well if I remember."

Harry and Sirius looked quite confused at first. Their looks of confusion suddenly changed to utmost horror as understanding dawned on them. Draco, however, looked delighted. Harry started shaking his head. "Oh no. Uh uh. Not going to happen. No way. Nope, sorry. There is absolutely no way I'm going to go crawling to HIM and beg for help!" Sirius followed suit.

Remus scowled at them. "Fine then! I just hope Ron enjoys living as a statue with a horrible expression on his face forever."

Harry sighed. "Ok, ok. We'll just throw away our dignity and go beg HIM for help." Sirius continued to complain, but a glare from Harry and Remus shut him up.

************

About thirty minutes later, Hermione found herself outside a dark Apothecary. Harry sighed and said "Well, here goes nothing." He walked inside followed by Hermione, Remus, and Sirius who had transformed into a dog. Draco remained outside.

Hermione found the inside of the Apothecary a little creepy. It was a dungeon that was lined up with shelves and a number of tables. The shelves were covered with jars that were filled all manners of strange things: eyeballs, pieces of liver, animal claws, beetle wings, snake skin, and more horrid stuff that made her want to vomit. There were cauldrons on the tables, and they were filled with disgusting, boiling potions that also made her feel sick.

"May I help you?" came a sharp voice from across the room. Harry visibly stiffened next to Hermione. The voice belonged to a pale man in black robes and a crooked nose. He had very, VERY greasy hair. He looked at Harry and sneered. "Oh, Potter, its only you."

Harry scowled and turned to Hermione. "Hermione Granger...Severus Snape."

"Um...pleased to meet you," said Hermione as she stuck out her hand.

"Charmed," said Snape. He ignored Hermione's hand and turned to Remus. "Lupin, I see you've returned. I hope this isn't a request for Wolfsbane. Tis a shame that you would need some in about three days isn't it?"

Remus frowned. "No Severus, I've already got some stored up."

"And where is Black?" said Snape with slight smirk on his face. "It would be a shame if that idiot were lost, but of course, he's probably had it long coming."

Suddenly, Sirius transformed back into a man looking absolutely furious. Snape didn't bother to hide his disappointment. "Oh, so you're alive."

"Yeah, too bad. I would've been honored if you'd had given my eulogy," snarled Sirius. Both men showed equal amounts of loathing on their faces.

Snape turned back to Harry. "So, what do you want?"

Harry straitened up. "We need mandrake draught for fifty people."

"Still going around causing trouble now are we, Potter?" smirked Snape. "If this were a few years ago at Hogwarts, I would've made sure that you had the proper punishment."

"We were attacked by a basilisk, dammit!" hissed Harry.

Snape walked towards one of the shelves and started digging through the contents. "Very well, I will make your precious mandrake draught, on one condition." He tossed Harry an object he had just taken from the shelf. It was a simple pendant in the form of a silver cross. "Wear that."

"What?!" Harry couldn't understand what Snape was getting at.

Snape smirked at Harry's confusion. "Wear it. And don't take it off. I've designed it so that it will alert me if you ever take it off. Mandrake draught takes a couple of days to brew and it would be most unfortunate if I decide to postpone my potions work for a while."

"What is it?"

"An experimental protection charm I've been working on for some time. It needs testing."

Harry narrowed eyes as he said "So I'm the guinea pig, eh?"

Snape smirked. "If you want to put it that way."

"Fine," Harry grumbled. He tied the pendant around his neck and put it under his armor.

"Now if you would step out of my workplace," said Snape. "I have some potions I need to brew."

With that, they walked out of the Apothecary. "Is it just me or is that man a complete slimy git?" asked Hermione.

"He was one of my trainers at Hogwarts," said Harry. "His favorite hobby was making my life a living hell. He also got his training at the same time as my Dad, Sirius, and Remus. They despised each other."

"Brilliant Potions master, though," said Remus.

"Yeah," agreed Sirius. "But he always takes extra time with us to add some of his 'extra flavors', slimy git. Bet his hair has more grease then the Slytherin tar pits."

The company laughed as they rejoined Draco. He immediately got down to business. "The Ring of the lion and the Ring of the Phoenix are located in a cave called the Caverns of Power. It can only be entered during the full moon which will be in three days," he said.

Harry sighed as he said "There's no way that I'm letting Hermione go alone. I'm going with her. Anybody else? Remus?"

"Harry, its the full moon. I'll be totally invalid then."

"Oh yeah, forgot. Sorry about that."

Hermione's eyes suddenly brightened as she remembered what Snape had said about Wolfsbane. She turned to Remus. "You're a werewolf?"

Remus groaned. "I'm really not happy about people knowing that fact."

"It's ok," said Hermione. "I don't care if you're a werewolf. You've been very kind to me and that's what matters."

"Thank you," said Remus as he smiled. The gratitude in his eyes was obvious.

Harry continued. "Well, since Remus is out of the picture, Sirius?"

"Sorry Harry," said Sirius. "Remus is going to be ill for a couple of days which means that I'll have to take full command of the armies."

Harry nodded and turned to Draco. "Malfoy?"

Draco snarled. "Do you really think I would degrade myself to escort a mud..."

"Don't you dare call her a 'mudblood'," cut off Harry. His eyes were blazing with rage. "If you really want to cut off ties with your father, then you have to drop the prejudices that he installed in you. If you can't do that, then you are no different from him."

"How dare you talk to me that way, Potter," hissed Draco. His cold grey eyes were narrowed to slits. "I am Sir Draco Malfoy. I deserve the respect of the name Malfoy. I am the heir to the throne of Slytherin!"

This news came as a complete shock to Hermione, but at the same time it made sense. So Sir Draco was King Lucius's son. That was why he was so touchy about the subject of his father. In Lucius's eyes, he was seen as a traitor. She knew King Lucius well enough that he would have no qualms in executing his own flesh and blood for treason.

"You're a fool, Malfoy!" declared Harry. "You fail to realize that it doesn't matter what a person is! What matters is who a person is! Its not a person's name, or title, or power, that defines a person but rather the person's actions and heart! Your overemphasis on the so called 'purity of blood' makes you no different from the Death Eaters! Remember, that's their philosophy!"

Draco glared at Harry but remained quiet. Finally he said "Dumbledore's words."

"More or less" said Harry.

Draco glared at Harry again before climbed onto Nimbus and rode away. Harry sighed again and turned to Hermione. "Well, I guess its just the two of us then." He smiled at her.

Hermione smiled back, but she realized that she was going to be alone with Harry for three days. She trusted Harry but she wasn't so sure if she trusted herself around the man she secretly loved. 'What will I do?' she thought. 'I've already broken down and kissed him once. What would I possibly end up doing with only the two of us? What if I break down again.' She decided that she would restrain herself from doing anything. Afterall, they weren't meant to be: she was a farm girl, he was a knight. But at the same time, she decided to treasure all of the moments she would be spending with Sir Harry Potter.

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A/N Well, that's Chapter 13. Hope you loved it. Review. Masterscribe, it is my painful duty to inform you that Oliver Wood will NOT be coming out in this story. Sorry about that. Next: The Caverns of Power, the two rings, and more Death Eaters. This is also the chapter that many of you have been waiting for!


	14. The Two Rings

Disclaimer: If I were J.K. Rowling, then would I be sitting in a college dorm room six miles south of Portland?

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Chapter 14: The Two Rings

King Lucius Malfoy, the ruler of the Kingdom of Slytherin, was not having a good day. Things had started going downhill when the Heir to the throne of Gryffindor had become a Mage Knight. Then, his own son, Draco, had betrayed him and also become a Mage Knight. Now it seemed to be only days before the Mage Knights would get a hold of the mysterious two Rings of the Lion and the Phoenix. Though, nobody knew exactly how those two rings worked, everyone knew for certain that they would be the key to the downfall of the Death Eaters.

Lucius groaned and placed his face in his hands. "I'm doomed," he muttered. "The cursed knights are closing in on me and all I have on my side a bunch of incompetent fools."

"Come now, surely not all of us are incompetent." Lucius jumped when he heard the voice. Icicle had entered the throne room with a malevolent smirk on her face. "I see you are having a bad day," she said.

"What do you want?" snarled Lucius.

Icicle smirked. "Oh, not going to use manners for the one who's going to hand you the rings to you on a silver platter?"

Lucius looked startled. "You? How? We don't even know where they are," he snarled.

"Oh, but I do. We've never had any use for the Mirror of Erised. I've known all along."

"WHAT?!" Lucius leapt to his feet, his face red with fury. "You've known all along and you've never told me?! WHATEVER FOR?!"

"One reason," smirked Icicle. "Because the rings will only accept one person and one person only to remove them from their resting place. Dumbledore knew all along who this one person is. We've only figured it out recently. We simply decided that it wasn't necessary for you to know yet."

Lucius calmed down a little as he asked "And your plan is?"

"Simple, really. I will let that person remove the rings, whereupon, I will steal them."

"Excellent," smirked Lucius. "It looks like I'm in your debt, but what does that matter? Go take the Rings. Oh, and take Crabbe and Goyle with you, just in case."

Icicle bowed and strolled out of the room. As she was about to exit, she caught sight of Riddle, who was leaning on the wall in a corner hidden by shadows. He caught her eye and gave her a sinister grin.

************

Harry and Hermione were sitting in front of a rocky hillside that was the entrance of the Caverns of Power. It was sealed shut with a large boulder, and they had been sitting on a grassy ledge in front of it for the past hour and a half. It was already dark and the full moon was climbing.

They had been traveling for the past three days, mostly with an awkward silence between them. They had had no problems chatting with each other at first, but after a while, Hermione couldn't help but feel nervous around Harry. If she hadn't been so intent on controlling her own feelings, she would have noticed that Harry also seemed a little nervous around her. As they sat next to each other on the ledge, Hermione couldn't help but notice how close they were to each other. She jumped a little when Harry suddenly spoke.

"Hermione, I probably shouldn't bring this up now but...I think...if I don't tell you this now..."

"What is it Harry?" she asked. She finally noticed how nervous he looked.

"Well....uh...you remember what we talked about during Ginny's birthday. About love and such?"

Hermione sadly thought 'Yes, when I forgot about our social standings and kissed you.' "I remember," she said.

"Well...I wanted to tell you that...I think...no, I've found the right person. The woman I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Hermione felt her heart plummet. She thanked God that it was dark as she fought back tears. 'He's met right noble woman for him,' she thought bitterly. 'Stop it, Hermione! You've always known that the two of you would never be together. All you can do is be his friend and wish him happiness.' She forced a smile on her face but avoided his eyes. "Well congratulations," she said. "Now tell me, who's the lucky girl?"

Harry seemed to be contemplating something before he looked at her. "Well, you see Hermione...." He never got to finish for at that moment, the full moon rose high enough so that its light hit a boulder on the rocky hillside. With a grinding sound, the boulder rolled away, revealing the entrance to the cave.

"Well, we better get this job done with," said Hermione. She sprang to her feet and strolled into the cave. Harry got up and followed after her.

After they walked down a long corridor, they entered a large room, about the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. The stone room was completely bare, except for a marble podium in the center of the room. Placed on top of the podium were two rings: one was gold and the other was scarlet. They were plain rings; the only decoration they had were pictures of animals. The gold ring had a lion drawn on it while the scarlet ring had a phoenix.

"There they are" said Harry. He made his way to the podium. Unfortunately, when he was about a meter away, he walked into an invisible wall. "Dammit!" he cursed. "There's got to be some sort of trick here. What could it be."

Hermione made her way right next to Harry. She looked at the rings for a moment before she said "Let me try." She raised her hands to the invisible wall, only that it wasn't there any more! Instead, there was a brilliant flash of light and the rings disappeared!

Hermione started to panic. "Oh no! What did I do?! Where did they go?!"

Harry, however, was smiling at her. "Look at you hands," he said. Hermione looked down at her hands and gasped. There they were: the Ring of the Lion was on the ring finger of her right hand and the Ring of the Phoenix was on the ring finger of her left hand.

Harry started laughing. "So that's why Dumbledore wanted you on this mission," he said. "He probably knew all along that you were the only one who could take the rings from here! Tricky that man, really. Gee whiz. And to think that I thought that it would be my royal blood that would...."

Hermione's mind suddenly went blank as soon as Harry said "my royal blood". A number of past incidents filled her head. How King James and Queen Lily had been assassinated sixteen years ago. How Harry had said that his parents died when he was only a year old. The name _Godric Gryffindor _written on Harry's sword. The way he was close to Lords Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, Lily and James's best friends. How Sirius and Remus mentioned that they were close friends with Harry's father, Prongs. The way the Gryffindor soldiers respected Harry. How she had never heard of the House of Potter amongst the Gryffindor nobility. And Harry's emerald green eyes. How everyone said he had his mother's eyes. When Hermione had looked at the portrait of Queen Lily, she had thought the eyes looked familiar. Of course they looked familiar: they were identical to Harry's!

Tears suddenly started falling down her face. Harry noticed the tears and took a step towards her. "Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked, concern shining in his emerald eyes.

"You're a prince," whispered Hermione. "You're King James and Queen Lily's son. You're the heir to the throne of Gryffindor. Why didn't you tell me?"

Harry was surprised. "I thought you knew," he said. "It wasn't a secret. I thought everybody knew that the House of Potter was the Gryffindor royal family."

Hermione remain silent for a moment as she stared into Harry's green eyes. She finally whispered "I love you, Harry." Then, before he could stop her, she turned around and ran out of the room.

'Idiot!' she thought to herself as she ran, more tears streaming down her cheeks. 'Why did you break down again?! Why did you tell him that?! He loves another woman! Now your friendship with him is ruined!' But there was no way that she could have kept it within herself any longer. It was bad enough that he was a knight and she was a farm girl. But now, she knew that he was actually a prince and whatever slight hope she had of being with him had crumbled away. Giving into despair, she had broken down completely.

Hermione continued running until she exited the Caverns of Power. She stopped short right at the mouth of the cave. A woman was waiting for her. A beautiful woman, with long golden blond hair and icy blue eyes. She was wearing tight, revealing, black robes and was carrying a dark staff, decorated with dragon claws. It was Icicle!

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A/N Cliffhanger! In fact, I better warn you readers now that ALL of the remaining chapters short of the last one will be cliffhangers of sort! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!! Anyway, R/R. Even though I am back in school, I will still continue with the daily updates. Next: plenty of action because its Icicle!


	15. Enter Icicle

Disclaimer: Wish they were mine, but they're J.K. Rowling's.

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Chapter 15: Enter Icicle

Icicle smirked at the young girl whom had just emerged from the cave. "Hello my dear, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, my little mudblood." Her gaze went down to the two rings on Hermione's fingers. "My, what pretty little rings you have. I would like to take them for myself."

Hermione felt a chill run down her spine. She raised her staff, spread her legs, and lowered her hips, thus placing herself in a battle ready stance. "Are you a...."

"Death Eater? I most certainly am. But I would like it if you called me Icicle. And what may your name be, my little mudblood?"

Hermione gritted her teeth. "Hermione Granger."

"Pleased to meet you," Icicle smirked and took a step towards Hermione. "You wouldn't mind if you just hand me those rings could you." Hermione didn't move at all and just continued glaring at Icicle. "I guess not. It looks like I'm going to have to hurt you a little after all. _Crucio!_"

With lightning fast reflexes, Hermione dodged the Cruciatus Curse, leaving behind a smoldering crater. She raised her staff and shouted _"Expelliarmus!"_ Icicle blocked the disarming spell. She grinned at Hermione and said "You're good, but not good enough I'm afraid." She sent another Cruciatus Curse at Hermione who once again dodged the curse.

Hermione shouted _"Stupefy!"_ Icicle smirked as she blocked the spell. She was startled however, when she suddenly found Hermione right in front of her, swinging her staff down! Icicle raised her own staff in a defensive posture and the two staffs met with a dull sound! Hermione wasn't finished yet as she shouted _"Incendio!"_

Icicle screamed as she caught on fire! She rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames while dodging Hermione's stunning curse at the same time. She glared at Hermione, malice shining from her eyes. The time for games was over!

__

"Avada Kedavra!" she shouted. Hermione dodged the green light and shouted _"Expelliarmus!"_ Icicle blocked the curse again but was forced to dodge Hermione's stunning curse. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was winning the duel.

Trying to slow Hermione down, Icicle shouted _"Inpedimenta!"_ Hermione blocked the curse with a shield charm. Hermione shouted _"Stupefy!"_ and sent another stunning spell at Icicle who rolled out of the way! Seething with anger, Icicle fired the killing curse at Hermione again! Hermione rolled out of the way of the Avada Kedavra curse and shouted _"Furnunculus!"_

Icicle gasped in horror as boils started breaking out all over her body! She quickly did a spell that got rid of them. During this time, Hermione had closed in on Icicle and swung her staff towards her opponent's left side! Icicle quickly blocked the blow with her own staff, but Hermione didn't give her a moments rest as she shouted _"Reducto!"_ The small explosion, blasted Icicle away! She hit the ground with a thud!

Thinking that Icicle was knocked out, Hermione made her way over to where Icicle lay. She was startled when Icicle sprang to her feet and shouted _"Expelliarmus!"_ Hermione's staff flew out of her hands and landed about three meters away! She wasn't defeated yet however as she balled her right hand into a fist and punched Icicle in the face! As Icicle reeled back, Hermione scrambled towards her staff. Just as she was about to grab it, Icicle shouted _"Crucio!"_ This time, she wasn't able to dodge!

It was pain that Hermione had never felt before! It felt like a thousand knives were stabbing her and her insides were being ripped to shreds! Hermione started screaming in agony in ways that she had never screamed before! Tears started falling out of her eyes as more screams issued out of her lips! Icicle advanced on the girl who was screaming on the ground. "You bitch!" she hissed. "You mudblood! How dare you humiliate me like that! You are going to suffer for that, my little mudblood!"

Hermione continued screaming in agony! 'Somebody...anybody...help me! Anyone... help...Harry...where are you?....Help me Harry!...Please!' Suddenly, Hermione heard an angry voice call out _"Expelliarmus!"_ At that moment, the voice sounded like the most beautiful, heavenly voice she had ever heard. Abruptly, the pain stopped! Weakly, Hermione looked up.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, his sword drawn and his green eyes blazing with rage was Sir Harry Potter!

Icicle glanced up at the Mage Knight whom had just disarmed her and smirked. "Sir Harry Potter! How nice of you to join us!"

Harry had never been more angry in his life! "You dare....you dare to hurt her! How dare you!"

"Going to save your mudblood friend?" sneered Icicle. "Well now, I can't have you spoiling my fun. Crabbe! Goyle! Take care of Potter!"

Two, thick set Death Eaters apparated on either side of Harry! On his right side was Crabbe, with a pudding bowl hair cut and a large broad sword. On his left side was Goyle with short, wiry dark hair and a monstrous battle axe. They charged at Harry, but Harry simply ducked out of the way, causing the two large Death Eaters to collide into each other!

Crabbe and Goyle grunted and turned on Harry. Crabbe swung his sword towards Harry's left side. The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air as Harry raised his sword to block Crabbe's attack! Crabbe swung his sword again, only to have his blow once again deflected by Harry's blade! After deflecting a third strike, Harry spun around Crabbe and rammed his hilt on the backside of Crabbe's neck! Crabbe sprawled out on the ground.

Goyle suddenly charged at Harry, brandishing his axe over his head! He swung the axe downwards with one powerful blow! Harry, however, simply stepped back and let the axe hit the ground in front of him! As Goyle struggled to pull the axe out of the ground, Harry placed a well aimed kick on his chin! Goyle keeled over!

Crabbe took this opportunity to attack Harry from behind! Harry, however, flicked his sword behind his back and deflected Crabbe's blow without even turning around! Harry swung around and slashed his sword at Crabbe who blocked it with his own sword! This left his face wide open, however, as Harry flung his left fist into Crabbe's nose!

Goyle lunged at Harry and swung his axe at him! Harry simply ducked and let the axe fly over his head! Before Goyle could even react, Harry shouted _"Petrificus Totalus!"_ Goyle's body suddenly went rigid and he fell over backwards!

Crabbe slashed Harry again! Their blades met a number of times before Harry caught Crabbe off guard and shouted _"Impedimenta!"_ Crabbe froze in mid lunge! Harry shouted _"Stupefy!"_ and stunned Crabbe who was still frozen.

Having won the battle, Harry turned on Icicle and froze in horror! Icicle was holding up the barely conscious Hermione and had her staff pointed at Hermione's head! "One move and the mudblood gets it!" she snarled!

Harry stopped in his tracks and glared at Icicle. He was so angry that sparks were actually flying from his eyes!

Icicle smirked. "My congratulations for taking care of Crabbe and Goyle! But you are quiet foolish to have forgotten about me!" She then grinned at him. "I'll make you a deal, Potter. If you surrender, then I promise to let her live!"

Harry continued to glare at Icicle. Hermione tried to shake her head. "Don't do it, Harry!" she said. "Please, don't throw your life away for me!" Tears were streaming down her face.

"You, shut up!" snarled Icicle. She turned back to Harry. "It's your choice, Potter. Either she gets the Avada Kedavra in her head or you do!"

Harry was still glaring at Icicle, but his expression suddenly softened. Hermione stared at him, horrified as He gave her a weak smile and threw down his sword! What he said after that shocked her even more: "I love you, Hermione."

"Oh, how sweet. Too bad those had to be your last words, Potter," said Icicle with a smirk. She raised her staff and shouted _"Avada Kedavra!"_

Hermione screamed! "Harry! Please! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Harry crumble lifeless to the ground!

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A/N Before any of you hit the back button, do you seriously think that I would kill off Harry? The point is that Hermione thinks Harry is dead. Holy Cow! I've got over 100 reviews! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! So R/R! Next: everybody grab a piece of chocolate because we're going to Azkaban!


	16. Horrors of Azkaban

Disclaimer: You want to know who's the owner? It's J.K. Rowling.

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Chapter 16: Horrors of Azkaban

"Harry, wake up....wake up." Harry let out a groan and stirred a little. "Come on mate, open your eyes."

Harry's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was the concerned face of Sir Ronald Weasley. "Great," he grumbled. "Your face just had to be the first face I get to see in the afterlife."

Ron grinned. "Well Harry, as guide to your first day of being dead, it is my painful duty to inform you that you are still very much alive!"

Harry suddenly bolted up right. "What?!" he shouted. "I'm alive?! But I was hit by the killing curse!" He finally registered his surroundings. The position of the sun indicated that it was late morning, and he had been lying right outside of the now sealed entrance to the Caverns of Power.

Ron's grin grew wider as he pointed at Harry's chest. The experimental protection charm Snape had given Harry was glowing with an eerie green light. As soon as Harry picked it up, it crumbled to dust.

"Snape's protection charm. It must've absorbed the Avada Kedavra curse, causing it to simply knock me out rather than kill me." Harry looked up at Ron and grinned. "I can't believe I'm going to say this but thank God for Snape."

Ron snorted. "Oh yeah, thank God for Snape. He added some of his specialty flavors to the mandrake draught he made for me. Wonderful taste, yech!" He pulled Harry up to his feet. "I came here as soon as the petrification wore off and found you lying on the ground. By the way, where's Hermione?"

Harry suddenly turned pale and his eyes widened in horror. "Oh my God!"

************

Hermione woke up with a headache. She groaned as she stirred and tried to pull herself up.

"Good morning, my little mudblood," came a voice from a shadows. Startled, Hermione quickly stood up. Her legs were weak and she nearly fell back down. She had been lying on the cold stone floor of a dark, gloomy dungeon cell. The only source of light came from an open door, and it was extremely cold.

Icicle emerged from the shadows with a smirk on her beautiful face. Hermione glared at her as she took a step towards her. "Of course, you can't really tell if it's morning or night here in this dungeon. Welcome to Azkaban fortress."

Hermione shuddered a little but managed to hide it. "What do you want with me?"

"It's not you that we want, my little mudblood," snarled Icicle. "It's those rings that we want." Hermione looked down at her hands and saw that the two rings of the Lion and the Phoenix were still there.

"I suppose you're wondering why we didn't take the rings from you," said Icicle. "Well, as it turns out, they can only be removed if you remove them yourself. I only found this out after you blacked out. That's why I brought you here." She took a step towards Hermione. "Now would you kindly hand me the rings?"

Hermione hissed "Over my dead body!"

"You know, that can be arranged," said Icicle, stroking her chin. "But if that happened, nobody would be able to take the rings off of your fingers." Icicle stepped back and said "I suppose I must use more drastic measures." She raised her staff and said _"Imperio!"_

Hermione went into a daze as a feeling of tranquility blanketed her mind.

"Remove the rings," commanded Icicle. Hermione's hands started moving towards the rings. But just as she was about to remove the rings, she heard a voice in the back of her head: _Wait a minute. I don't want to take the rings off. Why am I doing just that?_

"Remove the rings."

__

No, I think I'll leave them on, thank you very much.

"REMOVE THE RINGS!"

"I WON'T!" Hermione felt the curse lift as she shouted.

Icicle grinned. "I'm impressed," she said. "There are not too many people who can fight off the Imperius Curse. Never mind, I still have other methods. _Crucio!_"

Once again, Hermione collapsed in sheer pain! The screams that she issued and the tears that leaked from her eyes were not enough to show just how much agony she was going through! After what seemed to her was an eternity, but was actually only a minute, the curse was lifted.

"We have plenty of time," sneered Icicle. She yanked Hermione to her feet. "You can only take so much pain before you will be begging us to let you take the rings off." She raised Hermione's arms and placed her hands in shackles that were hanging from the ceiling. Hermione whimpered as pain ran through her arms and shoulders. She was hanging from the shackles, the toes of her shoes barely touching the floor. When Icicle removed her shoes, she had no contact with the floor what so ever.

Icicle placed her hand on Hermione's chin and lifted her face up. "I will see you again, my little mudblood." She slapped Hermione in the face and tore off her white and blue robes! She then stormed out of the dungeon cell and slammed the door behind her!

Hermione was left alone with her thoughts in the pitch dark. For the first time, she recalled the events that had led up to her predicament. She recalled how Harry had taken the killing curse to save her life. 'But they weren't able to kill me anyways,' she thought. Tears were falling down her cheeks. 'Harry died for no reason! I'm all alone now! Harry's dead!' Hermione started sobbing.

************

Back at Hogwarts, Harry was pacing back and forth across the meeting room. Seated at the table in the middle of the room were, Ron, Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagoll, Sirius, Remus, and Draco.

"I'm going to Azkaban," said Harry with grim determination. "And none of you are going to stop me."

"Right," said Ron. "You're going to barge into the fortress, fight off the dementors and Death Eaters, and save the damsel in distress."

"Exactly."

"Uh, Harry, I was being sarcastic."

Harry ignored him and continued pacing. "We won't barge in there, that would be too dangerous. It'll probably be best to sneak in some how." He stopped in mid pace. "Ok, I've got it. We'll take a ship from Bueaxbaton Port and sail to the island where Azkaban Fortress is located. We can sneak in through the north side where the guard is always the weakest. It may take time to locate her but I have a hunch that she's in one of the dungeons on the north western sides, that's where they imprison muggle-borns." He promptly turned to the others. "Whose with me."

"I am," said Ron straight away with no hesitation. Harry beamed at him.

Sirius spoke up, "Remus and I will go with you..."

"No!" said Harry. "We need you and Remus to stay here and mobilize the armies. If all goes well, we'll be prepared for the final battle right when we return."

"But Harry," said Remus. "What about the dementors."

Harry grinned. "You forget Remus, that you're the one who taught me how to use the patronus charm." He took on a more stern tone as he said "All right, who else?"

Dumbledore suddenly spoke up, "I request that you take Sir Draco Malfoy with you."

"WHAT?!" Draco looked absolutely horrified. Dumbledore simply beamed at him.

"Would it not be the perfect chance prove where your loyalties lie?" he said.

"Fine," Draco grumbled. "I'll go, but only because she has the rings with her." Ron didn't look too pleased.

"All right then," said Harry. "We'll take Floo Powder to Bueaxbaton first thing tomorrow. In the mean time, we should get some sleep."

************

That night, Harry was out on the balcony of his room, looking up at the stars while stroking Crookshanks.

"You seemed troubled, Harry." Harry turned around and so Dumbledore with his pet phoenix, Fawkes, on his shoulder.

Harry sighed. "I can't help but think about Hermione in Azkaban. Nobody deserves that, especially her." He looked back up at the stars. "I love her."

"Ah," said Dumbledore. "I figured as much. She was also just as fond of you as you are fond of her. But she was very self conscious about her social standing."

Harry sighed again. "I should've known how she felt about me, after she kissed me at Ginny's celebration. It was after that kiss that I started developing feelings for her." He made a weak smile. "Guess I don't blame her about being so self conscious of our social standings. I mean, the idea of a Gryffindor prince marrying a farm girl would sound absurd if it hadn't happened before."

Dumbledore smiled as Fawkes flew up and perched himself on Harry's shoulders. The phoenix started singing his enchanted song, inspiring hope and courage to build up in Harry's heart. "I'll save her," declared Harry. "I swear that I will get her out of Azkaban on my parents' souls. I'll love her with all my heart and I promise to make her happy!"

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A/N Everybody, please R/R. Oh no, how could I do that to Hermione? How could I place her in Azkaban? Don't worry, I won't have her in there for long because coming up next is the rescue. And its going to be Harry, Ron, and Draco to the rescue!


	17. The Rescue

Disclaimer: All hail J.K. Rowling, the creator of this series.

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Chapter 17: The Rescue

Hermione shivered in the cold. She was no longer in the shackles and was relieved of the pain in her arms and shoulders. However, the thin rags that covered her body did little to block out the freezing cold as she lay on the stone floor in a corner of her cell. She hadn't seen anyone since the Death Eaters had released her from the shackles, given her the rags and placed the Cruciatus Curse on her again: it seemed like ages ago. She had no idea how long it had been since she was kidnapped, her sense of time long gone in the continuing darkness. She was hungry, only given a few bare scraps to eat though she had plenty of water.

And there were the dementors.

Dementors. Vile creatures of the dark and evil. Over two meters tall in dark, billowing cloaks, with rotting, corpse like hands and their faces hidden under their hoods. They glided around outside of her cell, sucking away all positive thoughts that came to her. They were the source of her despair and misery, and whenever they were around, all possible happy thoughts and senses of hope were sucked away from her.

Hermione thought of Harry often, and when she did so, she was filled with hopelessness. Harry was dead! She would never see him again, even if she got out of Azkaban. Tears would fall from her eyes as she whispered his name: "Harry..."

************

One of the largest disadvantages Mage Knights had was that they could not apparate. When the Death Eaters had conquered the Kingdom of Gryffindor, they had managed to spread special wards throughout Magiterran that prevented apparation by anyone aside from themselves. As a result, the Mage Knights always had to physically travel to their destinations that were not connected by Floo Powder. Since Azkaban fortress was located on a rocky island, a few miles south of the Kingdom of Slytherin, the only way the Mage Knights could get there was by ship.

The trip from Beauxbatons to Azkaban took about a week and a half. Harry was very frustrated by the amount of time it took to get there, but it was their fastest available form of transportation. It was a very dangerous trip, since the Slytherin seas were often stormy and the shores around Azkaban were very rocky. Ron spent much of the time battling seasickness. After much time however, the Mage Knights had finally made it to their destination.

Harry, Ron, and Draco made their way up to the forboding fortress. Azkaban was a large, old fortress built entirely out of dark stone. There were very few windows and the area seemed to be in perpetual darkness. The three of them were soon standing outside of the northern wall. The main entrance was on the south side, but that was the last place they wanted to enter from.

Harry and Ron examined the stone wall before them. "You have any idea how we can get inside?" asked Ron.

"Not a clue," replied Harry. "There could be some hidden entrance or something around here, but unless we take a closer look...."

__

"Reducto!"

Harry and Ron were horrified as Draco blasted a large hole into the wall.

"What are you doing?! Blowing our cover?!" demanded Ron.

Draco simply shrugged. "You wanted an entrance, I just made one." He strolled into the fortress and Harry and Ron grudgingly followed.

__

"Lumos." The Mage Knights' blades gave off a bright light that illuminated the darkness as they made their way through Azkaban. After searching for some time, the three Mage Knights entered a large chamber and stopped abruptly. In the chamber were Icicle, McNair, Crabbe, Goyle, Wormtail, Crouch II, and about a dozen dementors! The Death Eaters were completely shocked to see Harry, Ron, and Draco in Azkzban!

"Mage Knights?! In Azkaban?! How?!" shouted McNair.

"Harry!" shouted Ron. "Go! Find Hermione! Now!" He raised his sword. "We'll take care of this lot!"

"What?!" yelled Harry. "Are you crazy?! I'm not going to leave you alone to fight them!"

"Go, Dammit! Hermione needs help more than we do!"

Harry hesitated for a moment before he tore down a different corridor. "Follow him!" yelled Icicle. The dementors swarmed after Harry. 'Good,' thought Harry. 'That means Ron and Malfoy will only have to deal with the Death Eaters and not the dementors!'

After running down the corridor for some time, Harry suddenly turned around and faced the dementors. Thinking up a happy thought, namely the fact that he would see Hermione again soon, Harry raised his sword and bellowed _"Expecto Patronum!"_

A silver image of a stag leaped out of Harry's blade. 'My father had the ability to transform into a stag,' remembered Harry as the patronus charged at the dementors. Soon, the dementors were driven away by the stag and Harry was able to continue his search again.

************

Ron was having a hell of a time fighting off McNair, Crouch, and Wormtail. Sounds of metal hitting metal constantly rang throughout the chamber as Ron's sword made contact with McNair's battle axe and Crouch's two single edged swords! "You're a fool, Weasley," taunted Crouch as Ron worked to deflect the blades that were flying his way. "Did you really think you could defeat all of us just yourself?" Ron simply growled and fought more fiercely!

Draco, meanwhile, was having his own problems.

__

"Crucio!" Draco dodged the curse fired by Icicle. Before she had another chance to fire another curse, Draco leapt forward and swung his sword down! The blade connected with Icicle's staff!

"You're a traitor, Draco!" sneered Icicle. "You betrayed us and became a Mage Knight! Lucius was oh so disappointed in you!"

"Consider it, my greatest privilege!" snarled Draco. He shoved Icicle away and swung his sword at her again! The blade and staff once again connected! Draco placed a few well aimed kicks on Goyle and Crabbe so he could concentrate on Icicle. Icicle attempted to knock Draco off his feet with her staff, only to have her attacks blocked by Draco!

************

Harry checked a number of cells without luck. Finally he came up to a small, metal door in a secluded part of the fortress.

__

"Alohomora." The door unlocked and flew open. Harry stepped inside. There, lying in the corner, was Hermione. She was pale, dirty, and thin. She was dressed in thin rags, her hair was in knots, and her cheeks were tear stained. To Harry, however, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Hermione's eyes went wide as she looked up at the doorway. "H...Harry? I...it can't be! Y...you're d...d...dead!"

"Hermione! I'm alive," said Harry with a smile on his face. "Snape's charm absorbed the killing curse." He kneeled right in front of her. Hermione apprehensively placed a hand on his cheek to confirm that she wasn't seeing things. As soon as she realized that it was indeed Harry in front of her, she threw her arms around him and sobbed on his shoulder.

"I...I thought that I would n...never see y...you again." she said between tears.

"So did I," said Harry as he hugged her back. He just sat there for a few moments, letting her cry on his shoulder. After her tears had subsided a little, Hermione pulled away.

"Harry, why did you say that you loved me?" she asked. Confusion was written all over 


	18. Potter and Riddle

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is the owner. I'm just borrowing.

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Chapter 18: Potter and Riddle

"Greetings, Harry," said Riddle with a grin. "I see we meet again. Here to save your friend?"

"Tom," acknowledged Harry. "I doubt you would let us pass freely, would you?"

Riddle laughed, a high pitched laugh that didn't suit him well. "Of course not. This time I'm not here to just observe you. I actually plan to kill you." He said all this very casually.

"Love how you put it," said Harry. He walked slightly away from Riddle and put Hermione down near the wall. "I'm going to have to take care of this," he whispered to her. "Just trust me."

Hermione took Harry's hand and squeezed it a little. "Harry, be careful." Harry nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. He then stood up and faced Riddle.

"If it's a duel you want, it'll be a duel you'll get." said Harry as he drew his ruby encrusted sword. Riddle grinned and drew his emerald encrusted sword.

"We must observe the formalities," said Riddle. "First we bow," Harry and Riddle both merely lowered their heads, never taking eyes off of each other. "And now, we duel!"

Riddle shouted _"Avada Kedavra!"_ the same time Harry shouted _"Expelliarmus!"_ The green light of Riddle's killing curse shot out towards the red light of Harry's disarming curse! However, as soon as the two lights connected, it transformed into a single gold thread that connected the two blades! Both Harry and Riddle were absolutely astounded as the golden thread started humming and vibrating! Riddle raised his sword and broke the connection.

"Prior Incantatem," muttered Hermione.

"What?" asked Harry, never taking his eyes off of Riddle.

"The reverse spell effect," said Hermione. "You two must have brother magical cores. Both from the exact same magical creature."

Harry stared at Riddle and stated "Phoenix feather."

Riddle simply nodded and said "Who would've imagined that we've both have magical cores from the same phoenix." He raised his sword and smirked. "Well then, Potter. Since we can't duel the magical way, we'll have to duel the more traditional way." Harry also raised his sword.

For an agonizing minute, the two simply stared at each other. Then, quite suddenly, the two duelers leapt forward and the two blades collided into each other with immense power! Red eyes and green eyes glared at each other as the two blades rubbed together, causing sparks to fly! Then, abruptly, the two broke apart and jumped back a little!

A second later, the two sprang forward again, the blades constantly hitting each other in speeds that seemed to be humanly impossible! There was no offensive or defensive in the duel, Harry and Riddle simply blocked and attacked in high speed succession! The two blades once again rubbed against each other as the two duelers continued slashing at each other! If looks could kill, both Harry and Riddle would be dead three times over!

************

Ron dodged McNair's Axe as he rolled backwards! In the process, he managed kick Wormtail in the nose, thus knocking him out! Ron rolled away from another one of McNair's attacks. As he did so, he managed kick at McNair's right shin, knocking him off balance. Suddenly, McNair screamed: he had fallen on to the blade of his own axe and was killed!

Ron had no time to react to McNair's death however as Crouch suddenly swung down his two swords, crossed together! The crossed blades connected to Ron's sword as he raised it vertically in a defensive posture! As the three blades rubbed against each other, Crouch smirked at Ron. "Well, young Weasley. It looks like you've received an invitation to the land of the dead!"

"Yeah, well you can be my date!" Ron kicked at Crouch and knocked him off his feet! Crouch scrambled back up, and their blades continued to clash!

Right behind them, Draco and Icicle were also dueling. _"Avada Kedavra!"_ shouted Icicle. Draco dodged the green light and shouted _"Impedimenta!"_ Icicle blocked the curse, but was nearly caught off guard when Draco leaped at her! The sword and staff clashed again! "You will die, like the traitor you are!" sneered Icicle. Draco simply glared at her and continued slashing his sword!

************

The sounds of blades clashing against each other sounded throughout Azkaban! Harry and Riddle seemed to be equally matched at first, but Hermione saw that Riddle was slowly but surely gaining the upper hand!

Harry swung his sword at Riddle, whom dodged by leaping up a little! He then managed to place a swift kick in Harry's midsection! Harry rolled backwards and leapt to his feet! He was getting exhausted and needed to think up a quick plan!

"You are good, Harry Potter!" smirked Riddle. "But, not good enough! You know as well as I that you can't win against me!"

"Yeah, well I think you should postpone the victory party, because we're getting out of here!" Harry pointed his sword forward as if using a spell. Instead of sending a spell at Riddle, however, he shot a white light at a small rock on the ground between the two duelers.

Harry suddenly lunged at Riddle, swung his sword sideways and deflected Riddle's sword away! He barely caught the name _Salazar Slytherin_ written on Riddle's sword's hilt as he hit the ground and rolled over to Hermione! He took hold of Hermione's hand and shouted _"Accio Rock!"_ Suddenly, the rock Harry had enchanted flew towards him! As soon as he had caught it, both Harry and Hermione disappeared! Riddle stared at the spot Harry and Hermione had been before. He grinned.

"Impressive."

************

It was just around when Ron and Draco found themselves back to back that Ron felt something. "Harry! He's got Hermione out of Azkaban!"

"How do you know?" asked an irritated Draco.

"I just know!" snapped Ron.

Draco had know time to argue as both Icicle and Crouch shouted _"Stupefy!"_ At the last minute however, both Ron and Draco ducked and the two stunning curses ended up hitting Crouch and Icicle!

"Ok, that takes care of them," said Ron. "Now scram!" Both he and Draco made a mad dash towards the way they had entered the fortress!

************

Hermione opened her eyes and tried to adjust her sight to the blinding light. She spent a few minutes adjusting to the blinding light before realizing that it came from the sun. After not seeing it for such a long time, it was a beautifully welcome sight. Hermione realized that they were on the deck of a ship, anchored by a rocky coast. She blushed as she realized that she was being carried by Harry again.

"How did we get out?" she asked.

"I made a rock into a portkey," said Harry. "Transported us right to the ship we used to get to Azkaban." Harry didn't say much as he seemed to be deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Riddle. It looks like his sword originally belonged to Salazar Slytherin."

"The founder of the Kingdom of Slytherin?"

"That's right. I own Gryffindor's sword because I'm his descendant. But what about Riddle? What relation does he have with Slytherin?" Harry stopped talking as he saw Ron and Draco run towards their ship. "We'll think about that later," said Harry as he smiled down at Hermione. "In the meantime, we should get you some food." Hermione smiled back at him.

************

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"Enervate."

Icicle opened her eyes and saw Riddle grinning at her.

"Get up Icicle," he said. "Wake the others, and go deliver a message to Lucius. The final battle is at hand!"

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A/N The fic is nearing its climax! Please R/R. I have uploaded the first chapter to my second fic, "A Coded Parchment". Please R/R that story as well. Next: The final battle starts!


	19. The Battle Starts

Disclaimer: What could I possibly do to convince you that J.K. Rowling owns this stuff?

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Chapter 19: The Battle Starts

Three weeks had past, and the hour of climax had finally come. Twenty nine thousand soldiers and eight hundred Mage Knights, from all four kingdoms, were marching through the mountainous lands of the Kingdom of Slytherin. Their destination: Malfoy Manor, the capitol of the Kingdom of Slytherin. Within days, the mighty land armada laid siege to the capitol city that housed the Death Eaters. However, the Death Eaters were not giving in without a fight. Thousands of dark creatures and Death Eater warriors were crowded within the city, all fully prepared for the inevitable Alliance attack.

Hermione had completely recovered from her ordeal in Azkaban. Although she was anxious about the coming battle, she couldn't help feeling happy about how she and Harry loved each other. The night before the attack, she was sitting in her tent, calming her anxious nerves.

"I am glad to see that you are well." Hermione looked up to see Dumbledore enter her tent, his eyes twinkling.

"I could not possibly feel more better than I do now," said Hermione with a smile on her face. "Harry and I love each other. Whenever I think about that, I can't help but feel cheerful."

Dumbledore softly chuckled. He suddenly became serious however and said "We must talk about those rings on your fingers."

Hermione looked down at the two rings and sighed. "Yes, we must."

Dumbledore sat down on a stool facing Hermione whom was sitting on her bed. "Miss Granger, I am sure that you are aware that the rings have chosen you to bear them into battle. You will be key to victory: those rings contain the sole power that can seal the source of the Death Eaters' dark powers. Without the source, they will be easily defeated, but if they do fight with their source, it shall be a devastating defeat for the Alliance."

Hermione sighed and looked down at her hands. This was a lot of pressure on her, she literally held the outcome of the battle in her fingers! Dumbledore placed his hand on her shoulder. "I am sorry that you have to go through this, Hermione. If it were at all possible, I would wish this burden off of you."

"No, I chose this for myself. I will go through with it." Hermione looked up at Dumbledore and smiled. "I promise sir, I will not let everyone down."

Dumbledore smiled at her and left her tent. After a few moments of silent thinking, Hermione stood up and walked outside. She went to a clearing where some of the Mage Knights were preparing for battle. She made her way to Harry and kissed him passionately.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" asked Harry.

Hermione smiled at him. "For loving me." Harry grinned and they kissed again. They continued kissing for a couple of minutes until Ron came and dragged Harry away.

************

The attack started at dawn!

"Catapults! Fire!" commanded Remus. Five hundred catapults fired five hundred burning rocks at Malfoy Manor, knocking down key walls and setting the city on fire.

"Reload!.....Fire!" commanded Remus. The catapults succeeded in firing another volley before Death Eaters and their dark creatures came streaming out of the city, waving their weapons and letting out a war cry!

"Charge!!!!" yelled Remus. The Alliance soldiers let out their own war cry and charged at the city and the warriors that were emerging from it! Soon, foot soldiers were battling giving their all out strength in trying to best whoever it was their opponent happened to be! Behind them, Archers let their arrows rain on enemy soldiers! Cavalry charged through the battle field, attacking all opponents with swift blows!

The battle was fierce for although, Alliance soldiers far outnumbered the Death Eaters, the Death Eaters had a powerful arsenal of dark creatures on their side: orcs, goblins, trolls, vampires (although these became less prominent as the sun climbed higher), veela, chimaeras, manticores, dementors, even dragons (fireballs and ridgebacks being their favorites)! These creatures proved hard to kill and many an Alliance soldier fell while battling such creatures! The Mage Knights used magic to aid the Alliance soldiers the best they could while they themselves participated in the battle!

Slowly but surely, the Alliance forces made their way to Malfoy Manor. Soon, the fighting was taking place not only in the streets of the city, but even within the palace grounds! Many Death Eaters had barricaded themselves within the buildings of the city, and fighting proved to be taxing to the Alliance soldiers.

During the confusion of battle, Hermione, accompanied by Harry, Ron, and surprisingly Draco, managed to sneak into the palace. This was part of the plan, as Hermione, with the rings, was to face Lucius whom was believed to have the keys to the Death Eaters' source.

************

Remus managed to bring down another opponent when he noticed a lone Death Eater attempting to run away. The first thing he noticed was the Death Eater's gleaming silver right hand! Remus immediately made his way up to the Death Eater.

"Why hello, Peter," said Remus with mock friendliness.

"R....Remus!" stuttered Wormtail. His right hand conjured up a blade as Remus drew his sword. The two blades connected as Remus swung down his sword at Wormtail! Remus spun around and sent his sword at his opponent again who barely deflected it with his own blade!

"How does it feel, Wormtail?" snarled Remus. "How does it feel to be responsible for the fall of an entire kingdom? How does feel to betray your friends? This is for Lily and James!"

Wormtail started panicking as Remus continued slashing at him! He barely managed to bloke each of Remus's attacks, but he was being worn out by the far more powerful werewolf!

************

"Father," muttered Draco as Hermione and the Mage Knights barged into the throne room.

Lucius glanced at Draco and snarled "You are no son of mine!" Draco tensed a little but kept his cool.

"Why, so my little mudblood has decided to return," smirked Icicle. It was only she, Lucius, and Crouch in the throne room. "Going to use those rings against us now? Don't bother, I've kept your cell at Azkaban clean for your return there."

Hermione shivered at the mention of Azkaban. Harry placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he and Ron drew their swords. "Let's finish this right here, right now!" yelled Ron.

Crouch glanced at Icicle. "I'll take care of Weasley and the traitor," he said, "if you take care of Potter and the mudblood!" He waved his hand at the Mage Knights. Ron and Draco were flung out of the throne room, into the corridor outside! Crouch followed them and the doors swung shut!

"Now," said Icicle. "Prepare to meet your dooms!" She raised her staff and yelled _"Avada Kedavra!"_

Harry and Hermione dodged the curse, Harry to the right and Hermione to the left. Deciding to kill Hermione first, Icicle shot another killing curse towards her. Just as she dodged it however, Harry yelled _"Expelliarmus!"_ from behind! Icicle was caught off guard and barely managed to dodge the red light!

She decided to turn her attention to Harry and shot the Avada Kedavra curse at him! However, this time Hermione shouted _"Stupefy!"_ just as Harry dodged the killing curse! Icicle was just barely able to dodge the stunning curse! With horror, she realized that she had no chance of winning against Harry and Hermione this time!

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"Stupefy!" shouted Harry and Hermione at the same time! With a scream, Icicle slumped to the floor!

"You fool!" screamed Lucius, "How could you let yourself..." Lucius suddenly stopped when he noticed that Harry was standing right in front of him with a huge grin on his face! Harry punched Lucius in the gut and the ruler of the Kingdom of Slytherin slumped down to the floor!

Harry dusted off his hands. "Well Hermione, lets finish what we came here to do in the first place." Hermione grinned as she placed her hands over Lucius's form. She concentrated all of her magic into the rings, willing them to shut down the Death Eaters' source.

Nothing happened.

"What's going on?!" exclaimed Harry. "Why isn't anything happening?!"

"I...I don't know!" said Hermione. "The rings were supposed to seal the source!"

Suddenly, cold, high pitched laughter echoed through the room! Harry and Hermione whipped around to see Tom Marvolo Riddle walking towards them!

"Isn't it obvious?" laughed Riddle. "Lucius isn't the source! I can't believe that you thought a fool like Lucius could actually have the keys to the source!"

"What did you expect us to believe, Riddle?" snarled Harry. "Lucius is the ruler of the Death Eaters, why wouldn't he be the source?"

Riddle grinned and his red eyes gleamed with malice. "Do you honestly believe that?"

Lucius managed to lift up his head. As soon as he saw Riddle, his face turned pale and his eyes widened with horror.

"M...m...master!"

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A/N Well, there you have chapter 19. Hope you love it. This story is coming to its end very soon so everybody read and review. I also ask of you to please read and review my short story Uninvited Guest at the Wedding. Next: He-who-must-not-be-named.


	20. I am Lord Voldemort

Disclaimer: I don't think those books have my name written on them. They have J.K. Rowling's name on them.

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Chapter 20: I am Lord Voldemort

Metal sounds issued throughout the corridors as blade hit blade! Crouch was fighting much more ferociously than he was in Azkaban and both Ron and Draco had a hard time keeping up against him. And it certainly didn't help that they were arguing in between their attacks on Crouch.

"Do you fools really believe that you can defeat me? If so, you are nothing more than a pair of incompetent idiots," laughed Crouch. He spun around, and used the momentum to slash his two swords at Ron and Draco! The two Mage Knights managed to block the attacks but were nearly thrown off balance.

"Who are you calling an idiot?" demanded Draco. He swung his sword down at Crouch who deflected the attack by crossing his two blades. "Weasley may be one but I'm not!"

"Oh, so I'm an idiot, am I?" shouted Ron. He flashed his sword at Crouch with a sideways thrust! Crouch leapt up and dodged Ron's attack! "I thought that idiots only had blond hair!" Crouch made his way around Ron and sent him sprawling with a swift kick!

"Maybe they have red hair!" yelled Draco. He slashed at Crouch who deflected the attacks. Crouch ducked down and tripped Draco!

"Yeah, maybe they do have red hair!" yelled Ron. "But how should I know, I'm just an idiot!!!" Ron made three continuous slashes at Crouch. All three were deflected! "At least I have a brain in my head!!!!"

"Oh, and to imagine that all I thought was in your head was air!!!!!" shouted Draco. Both he and Ron charged at Crouch. Crouch leapt out of the way, and Ron and Draco crashed into each other!

As Ron and Draco continued arguing, Crouch couldn't help but think 'This is easier than I thought!'

************

The stunned silence that had issued through the throne room was suddenly disrupted by Harry: "What do you mean by 'master'?! Lucius is supposed to be the master!!!"

Riddle suddenly started laughing hysterically. "So you really did believe that!" he said. "Seems like I was more successful than I thought!" He smirked at Harry and continued. "Well Potter, Lucius is just a puppet that I set up. That's right, I! I am the true ruler of the Slytherins! I am the true object of worship of the Death Eaters! I, Tom Marvolo Riddle! Or, as I prefer to be called..." Riddle's red eyes opened wide and he had a maniacal grin on his face. "....Lord Voldemort!"

"What?!" said both Harry and Hermione, their eyes wide with astonishment.

Riddle, or rather, Voldemort made a small bow. "I am Lord Voldemort!" he said. "The Dark Lord. Master of the Death Eaters. Ruler of the Kingdom of Slytherin for the past twenty years, and of the Kingdom of Gryffindor for the past sixteen. Soon to be ruler of all of Magiterran. Direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. And..." He grinned once more. "....assassinater of King James and Queen Lily."

Hermione and Harry turned pale. Harry suddenly started shivering and Hermione barely managed a small "W...what?"

"Quite simple really," said Voldemort with a shrug. "Wormtail betrayed James and Lily to me. James fought valiantly against me, it was a good fight by the way, but I eventually overcame him with one good Avada Kedavra. Lily however, died trying to protect you, Harry." Harry shuddered at this revelation. "She sacrificed herself to save you. Effective, I must say. For when I tried to kill you sixteen years ago, the curse rebounded on me!" Voldemort grimaced as he recalled the past. "I was stripped of my powers, and I fled barely alive. The only thing you got was that scar on your forehead," Riddle eyed Harry's scar. "And my abilities as a parselmouth." He walked over to the cowering Lucius. "That's why I set up Lucius here as a puppet while I myself spent years regaining my powers. Foolish as he was, he had his uses. But it looks like he has outlived them."

Lucius started shaking uncontrollably. "Forgive me, master," he begged. "Forgive me."

Voldemort started laughing. "Lucius, my friend. You really think that I would be so merciful? Now that my powers have completely returned? You had your uses, Lucius, but not any more." He pointed his sword at Lucius's head. _"Avada Kedavra!"_ Hermione screamed as Lucius fell dead!

Voldemort walked over to the unconscious Icicle. _"Enervate."_ Icicle opened her eyes and gave a start when she saw Riddle standing over her.

"You have failed me, Icicle," said Voldemort with a serious face.

"No, my Lord. I would never..."

"You have failed me!" Voldemort continued speaking with mock pity. "Why, Icicle? Why? You were my most devoted servant. You were my liaison between Lucius and myself. You were even spying on Lucius: keeping me alert in case he ever stepped out of line. So why have you failed me, Icicle? Why?"

Icicle started shivering and beads of sweat fell down her face as her eyes widened in horror. "No, my Lord. That is not how it is!"

Voldemort started tutting. "Icicle, Icicle, Icicle. Defeat against a Mage Knight may be acceptable, but against a mudblood?" Riddle eyed Hermione. "Well, she is exceptional so defeat may be understandable. Still, you have failed me. And you know Lord Voldemort's rules."

"No! My Lord! You can not..."

__

"Avada Kedavra."

With a scream, Icicle fell down dead. Harry was now glaring at Riddle, his sword drawn and his green eyes emitting sparks of rage! Voldemort started walking toward the back of the throne room. "Follow me Harry," he said. "and you too, Miss Granger. I will guide you two to where we shall have our last duel. There, we will finish this war once and for all!"

Riddle disappeared in to a corridor that had been hidden beneath the throne. Upon exchanging a glance with each other, Harry and Hermione followed after him. After walking through a long corridor, Harry and Hermione came up to a large wooden door, decorated with snakes. Harry, suddenly hissed something in parseltongue, and the doors opened wide!

They entered a large chamber, held up by a series of pillars decorated with snakes. At the end of the chamber was a large statue of Salazar Slytherin. Riddle was waiting for them in front of the statue, his arms raised and a triumphant grin on his face.

"Welcome," hissed Voldemort. "Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets!"

************

Outside of the palace, Remus and Wormtail were still engaged in mortal combat!

"Is life worth living, Peter?" taunted Remus. "Can't you hear James and Lily continuously accusing you for betraying them? For murdering them?"

Wormtail shuddered, but continued fighting. Their blades were sending off sparks as they hit. Remus twirled his blade and used carefully calculated slashes which placed him on the offensive. Wormtail, on the other hand, was clumsy and made to many unnecessary moves. It looked like Remus was about to win the duel any second when he suddenly lost balance as he stepped on a discarded shield! Wormtail grabbed his chance and stabbed Remus!

Sirius caught sight of what had happened and screamed. "Remus! NOOOOOOOO!!!!" He darted forward and caught Remus just as he crumbled. Luckily, the wound wasn't fatal though he was loosing a lot of blood.

Remus looked up at Sirius and gasped. "S...Sirius. W...win this w...war for me. For L...Lily and James." Sirius nodded. He used a portkey to transport Remus back to the Alliance camp. He then turned on his adversary!

"You'll pay, Wormtail!" Sirius's blade flashed and Wormtail barely managed to block the attack! Sirius swung his sword again and again, forcing Wormatail onto a high wall overlooking the battlefield. Sirius also leaped onto the wall and the two opponents started to exchange blades!

While Remus had been on the offensive by using calculated moves, Sirius remained on the offensive by using sheer fury and brute force. He was quickly, overwhelming Wormtail, who could barely block Sirius's fierce attacks!

************

"Why don't you do us all a favor and get killed?!" yelled Ron.

"Why don't you?!" yelled Draco.

They were still fighting Crouch whom had the upper hand with his two swords. The blade in his left hand was blocking Ron's attacks while the blade in his right was slashing at Draco! It was looking more and more as if Ron and Draco would turn on each other!

Crouch finally decided that he had enough fun and decided to put the two Mage Knights out of their misery. With a combination of strength, technique, and magic, Crouch leapt thirty feet in the air and flew down in a diving attack!

Ron and Draco abruptly ended their argument and exchanged a knowing glance. Ron suddenly turned his sword upside down and Draco leapt on to Ron's sword's hilt! With an upward thrust, Ron sent Draco flying at Crouch! Crouch barely had a chance to register astonishment as Draco slashed into him! Crouch was killed!

Ron and Draco dashed back into the throne room. Draco gave a start when he saw his father's lifeless body. Ron also located Icicle's corpse. However, there was no sign of Harry or Hermione.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a special announcement to make. Next chapter is THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! A special thank you to all of those who read and reviewed this story. I also want to apologize for my over use of exclamation points. So stay tuned for THE LAST CHAPTER!


	21. The End of the Saga

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling's. Sure as heck ain't mine.

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**Chapter 21: The End of the Saga**

"Where are they!" shouted Ron. "What happened here!"

Draco remained silent. He seemed to be in shock and was kneeling over Lucius's dead form. They may have been on opposing sides but it was still a shock to see your own father dead.

Ron continued looking for any signs of Harry and Hermione. Just when he was about to check out the throne, however, he felt a sudden pull of magic. With a shriek, he disappeared down the secret path leading down to the Chamber of Secrets. Draco, still in shock, didn't even notice he was missing.

Outside, Sirius and Wormtail were still engaged in mortal combat. Sirius's superior skills were definitely showing their toil and Wormtail was barely able to hold his own.

"This is for James!" yelled Sirius as he pummeled Pettigrew in the midsection with his hilt! "For Lily!" He placed a swift kick on Wormtail's chin! "For Remus!" Sirius slammed Pettigrew's head on the blunt side of his blade! He then lifted Wormtail by his collar. "And this is for me," he whispered as he pummeled his fist into Wormtail's cheek. Pettigrew crumbled on the ground.

Sirius was just about to run him through when Wormtail started weeping uncontrollably. Treacherous and deceitful as Pettigrew was, Sirius still hesitated in front of the pitiful and pathetic creature in front of him. The moments hesitation was all Wormtail needed as he suddenly sprang and tackled Sirius. Taken by surprise, Sirius was knocked off of his feet.

"Nothing to fear, Padfoot," whispered Wormtail. His tears were replaced with a malevolent grin as he placed his blade on Sirius's neck. "You'll soon be joining Prongs and Lily!"

Wormtail drew back his blade so as to decapitate Sirius and swung. Suddenly, Sirius turned into a dog. In the process, Sirius's head had gone down to a lower position and the blade swished over his head. Wormtail was caught off balance as Sirius turned back into human form.

"And this is for Harry!" he whispered as he ran Wormtail through. Pettigrew fell down dead, disbelief written all over his face.

Ron found himself in a chamber that was held up by large pillars decorated with snakes. He found out that he was lying right behind Harry and Hermione and quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Hello, Ron," said Hermione without even looking at him. Harry remained quiet. He was glaring at a figure standing at the other end of the chamber.

"Riddle?" said Ron as he recognized the figure.

"Try Voldemort," said Harry.

Voldemort was grinning like a madman. "Well, Harry. Now that I've summoned your friend here, that brings us to three against one. I do believe that the odds are in your favor, are they not?" Voldemort drew his sword. Hermione raised her staff as Harry and Ron drew their swords. The trio remained still for a few minutes. Voldemort crouched down. "What are you waiting for? If you're not going to start, than I will!"

_Avada Kedavra!_ Harry, Hermione, and Ron scattered three ways as the green light of the killing curse struck the floor where they had been standing. Voldemort suddenly leaped up in the air with a high pitched laugh. "You'll be first, Mudblood!" he screeched as came down toward Hermione.

Before Hermione could move, Harry sprang in front of her. The sound metal hitting metal rang through the corridor as Harry's sword and Voldemort's sword connected. Harry swiftly placed a kick on Riddle's midsection. He was just about to slash his sword when Voldemort shouted _Crucio!_ Harry writhed in pain as he was hit with the curse. With a roar of anger, Ron slashed at Voldemort. Voldemort broke the curse on Harry so that he could defend himself from Ron's attacks. He knocked Ron off of his feet by ramming his blade into Ron's face. Fortunately for Ron, it was a blunt part of the blade.

Hermione shouted _Stupefy!_ Voldemort deflected Hermione's stunner and shouted _Crucio!_ Hermione dodged the Cruciatus curse and closed in on Riddle. She swung her staff down at him as hard as she could! Voldemort caught the staff on his blade, but just as he was about to place a curse on Hermione, Ron yelled _Reducto!_

The blast flung Voldemort back some fifteen meters, but he managed to land on his feet. He was still grinning as Ron and Hermione closed in on him. With a quick roll forward, Riddle placed himself behind Ron and Hermione. Before they could turn around, Voldemort had placed them on the Cruciatus Curse. Their screams echoed throughout the Chamber of Secrets as they writhed on the ground in sheer agony. Voldemort looked over them with his malevolent grin!

_Expelliarmus!_ The curse was broken as Voldemort was flung backwards by the recovered Harry's disarming spell. Ron and Hermione quickly scrambled to their feet and made it to Harry's side. Voldemort had just stood up when Hermione shouted, _Incendio!_ Voldemort sprang back as he was engulfed in flames. Before he could move, Harry and Ron came forward and swung their swords down at him. Voldemort was barely able to block their blows. Then, before he could brace himself for another attack, Harry, Hermione, and Ron shouted, _Expelliarmus!_ The combined force of the disarming spells blasted Voldemort through the wall on the other side of the chamber. The trio fell down to their knees, exhausted.

"Well, that was something!" grinned Ron between breaths. "Sure took a lot out of me. But looks like the light side always wins!"

Hermione also grinned but stopped when she saw that Harry was still glaring at the other side of the chamber. Hermione looked toward the way Harry was glaring and gasped. Voldemort was standing with barely a scratch on his body: his red eyes gleaming and a grin on his face!

"Impressive!" he said. "Definitely worth my attention but not enough, I'm afraid, to defeat the Dark Lord!" He laughed his high pitch laugh!

"I don't believe it!" yelled Ron. "We blasted him with enough power to level Hogwarts, Azkaban, and Diagon Alley combined and he just stands there grinning!"

"He must be immortal or something," said Hermione with a defeated voice. "We can't win! It's just not possible…"

Harry had remained quiet during this entire time. He suddenly looked up and whispered, "Hermione, the rings! Use the rings!" Hermione's eyes went wide as she understood. The rings were what could shut down the key to the Death Eaters' power. In other words, they were what was needed to defeat Voldemort. Hermione closed her eyes and started to concentrate on the rings on her hand.

Voldemort's grin was replaced with an ugly look. "Oh no you don't! _Avada Kedavra!_" Hermione was forced to break her concentration as she and the Mage Knights dodged the killing curse. She tried to concentrate again but was forced to dodge another killing curse shot her way. This went on another number of times! Voldemort was now placing so much of his power in the Avada Kedavra curse that the green light was actually taking the shape of a green and silver basilisk.

"I can't keep this up!" shouted Hermione as she dodged another basilisk shaped curse. Exhaustion overwhelming her, she tripped on a loose stone and fell to the ground. Hermione whimpered in pain: she had twisted her ankle.

Voldemort flashed a triumphant grin! "I have you now, Mudblood," he said. He was just about to place the killing curse on Hermione when suddenly, Ron sprang up from behind him. Ron jumped on Voldemort's back and wrapped his arms and legs around him, pinning Voldemort to himself. "Harry! Hermione! Do it now!" he shouted as Voldemort tried to fling Ron off.

"Come on, Hermione!" said Harry as he helped Hermione to her feet. "This is our last chance!" Hermione nodded and lifted her arms in front of her, her fingers entwined. Harry stood behind her as his arms came around Hermione; his hands cupped the two rings on Hermione's fingers. As they concentrated on the rings, a single spell entered their minds.

Voldemort finally managed to fling Ron off his back. Just as he shouted _Avada Kedavra!_, Harry and Hermione shouted _Expecto Patronum!_

Instead of a silver stag, a golden lion and a scarlet phoenix shot out of the two rings! Then, before their very eyes, the lion and the phoenix combined and became a single patronus: a red and gold griffin! The red and gold griffin and the green and silver basilisk charged at each other.

A blast of sound echoed through the chamber as the griffin and the basilisk collided into each other. At first, the patronus charm and the Avada Kedavra curse rammed at each other with equal power. Eventually, however, the basilisk gave way. Voldemort stared horror struck as his body was engulfed by the red and gold griffin. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted. He body suddenly started crumbling and within seconds, he had crumbled into dust. Thus perished Lord Voldemort.

With Voldemort's death, the Death Eaters suddenly lost their powers, and before they could figure out what had happened, the Alliance had won the battle.

Hermione looked down at her hands. She noticed that the Ring of the Lion had transported onto Harry's left ring finger. She looked into his eyes. "Is…is it over?" she asked.

Harry smiled and said, "I think it is."

Hermione smiled and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too." They kissed.

Peace was restored to Magiterran and life returned to the way it was before the coming of Voldemort and the Death Eaters: if not, even better. Sir Draco Malfoy was crowned the new king of the Kingdom of Slytherin. His first act as ruler was to purge all Death Eater influences from his kingdom as well as work to regain the trust that the Slytherins had lost because of the Death Eaters.

Hogwarts once again became the training center of the Mage Knights who continued to wander Magiterran, protecting its peace and prosperity. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, and even Snape are all trainers there, even to this day.

Soon after, the end of the war, Harry Potter was crowned king of Gryffindor and the Kingdom of Gryffindor was reestablished. Many of the Gryffindor nobility had their honors and privileges restored, among those, the houses of Weasley, Lupin, and Black. Sirius and Remus both retired and spent the rest of their days on their lands.

After Sirius and Remus's retirement, Ron became the new commander of the Gryffindor military, a job he did very well.

The most joyous day of Magiterran came about a year after the defeat of Voldemort. The rebuilt Gryffindor capitol city of Godric's Hollow was filled with guests from all four kingdoms who had come to witness the marriage of King Harry Potter to young Hermione Granger.

The streets were crowded that day as Gryffindor citizens waited to see their new queen who had once been a farm girl, just like her predecessor, Queen Lily. They fell in love with the new Queen Hermione immediately for she never forgot her muggle origins and was always a champion of their rights. Harry and Hermione loved each other dearly and Hermione bore Harry two daughters and a son whom was his heir. The two lived in the Kingdom of Gryffindor happily for the rest of their lives.

**The End**


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